Raul Castro thanks Pope Francis for brokering 'diplomatic thaw' between US and Cuba

Cuban President Raul Castro has reportedly thanked Pope Francis for helping to end a five-decade-long deadlock between his country and the United States, adding that he was so impressed with the pontiff that he was even considering converting to Catholicism.

"Bienvenido!" said Francis in his native Spanish while welcoming Castro to his studio near the Vatican's public audience hall for private talks that lasted nearly an hour. After leaving the Vatican, Castro, the brother of Fidel, the revolutionary leader who brought the Communists to power in Cuba, was all praises for Francis, reported The Guardian.

While addressing the press at the office of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, whom he met after the Vatican talks, the president also said that if the pope "kept going the way he's going," then he will come back to the Catholic Church.

He added that when the pope visits Cuba in September, he will go to all his masses, and with satisfaction.

The statements were a "startling assertion" for the leader of a communist nation, where clampdowns on dissidents in the past had elicited sharp criticism from the Vatican.

While remarking that the communist regime in Cuba did not allow believers, Castro said that they were now loosening up a little and added that it was an important step.

The Cuban president praised the pope by saying that he had been "very impressed by his wisdom, his modesty, and all his virtues that we know he has."

Pope Francis had played a key role in secret negotiations between the U.S. and Cuba, which ended with U.S. declaring its decision to restore diplomatic ties with Cuba after more than 50 years of tension in December.