With President Barack Obama by his side, Cuban President Raul Castro today appeared to deny that his country holds any political prisoners.

In a sometimes awkward public appearance in which Castro fiddled with his headphones and complained about translation problems, the Cuban president unexpectedly fielded questions from US reporters.

"Give me a list of the political prisoners and I will release them immediately," Castro said when challenged about the Communist island's human rights record. 

"After this meeting is over, you can give me a list of political prisoners. And if we have those political prisoners, they will all released before the night ends," he said.