Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared thin but lucid in his first video appearance in three months, which was broadcast on Cuba's state television on Wednesday.
"I have felt quite well," Castro is shown telling Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in video footage of their meeting in Havana on Monday.
The last video of Fidel Castro was shown on Oct. 14 after a meeting with his staunch ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Lula raised eyebrows and quick questions about Castro's political future saying after long discussions on Tuesday: "I think Fidel is ready to take on his political role in Cuba and his historical role before the world."
He added that the 81-year-old "has incredible lucidity and impeccable health."
But Fidel Castro, appearing not to share precisely the same assessment of his health, said in official media earlier on Wednesday: "I do not enjoy the physical capacity I would need to speak in person to the residents of the town which nominated me for next Sunday's elections. I do what I can: I write," Castro said in a letter dated on Monday. "Now that I have more time than ever to get informed and think about what I see, I am hard pressed for enough time to write."
The Cuban leader underwent gastrointestinal surgery in July 2006 and handed over power "temporarily" to his brother Raul Castro, 76. He has not been seen in public since, but has appeared on television and publishes commentaries in official dailies.
With National Assembly elections set for Sunday and Fidel Castro's precise official political role unclear, Cubans are keen for word on his health and plans.
Lula did not say where he met with Castro, whose place of recovery has been kept a tight secret all these months.
Questions about Fidel's political future were revived early last month after he was nominated as a candidate to the National Assembly, making him officially eligible to resume the presidency if he should be elected to the assembly.
Cuban officials have said Fidel Castro keeps up with official business while he is recovering in an undisclosed location, but there has been no official indication of whether or when he would resume the presidency.
In a commentary published on Wednesday, Fidel urged young Cubans to be realistic and not expect "miracles" from the government and to serve with a spirit of sacrifice if elected to office.
RSS