President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

The former Cuban leader said Saturday that he thought the choice was a “positive step,” though he added it was more a repudiation of Obama’s predecessors than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.

“Many believe that he still has not earned the right to receive such a distinction,” Castro wrote in a column published in state media. “But we would like to see, more than a prize for the U.S. president, a criticism of the genocidal policies that have been followed by more than a few presidents of that country.”

According to the Nobel Committee’s press release:

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.