Havana, Dec. 5 -- Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has offered to meet with President-elect Barack Obama, the communist island's state media reported.

"With Obama, talks could happen anywhere he wants," wrote Castro in a statement published in Granma newspaper Friday and reported by the Times of London.

Current Cuban leader Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's younger brother, has also offered to meet with Obama to discuss ending the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

Obama said during his campaign he would like to sit down with leaders like Raul Castro, a remark that drew criticism from opponents of the Castro government. (UPI)