Chavez Says Ailing Castro on the Mend

Cuba's leader Fidel Castro, right, smiles as he sits with Argentine Congressman Miguel Bonasso in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Sept. 13,2006. Castro made an appearance of sorts Wednesday on the sidelines of the Nonaligned Movement summit when Cuban state television showed photos of him wearing pajamas and chatting with a close friend from Argentina.(AP Photo/NOAL Summit,Pool) (Noal Summit Pool - AP)

HAVANA -- Fidel Castro was "walking, singing" and "almost well enough to play baseball," Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez declared after meeting with the ailing leader Thursday in Cuba during a trip to Cuba for the Nonaligned Movement summit.

Cuba takes over the three-year chairmanship of the movement from Malaysia this week. Chavez said with his close friend in charge, the group representing two-thirds of the world's nations will be much stronger.

The summit was the first international meeting where the Cuban leader's younger brother, Raul Castro, represented his country.

Trading the customary green fatigues he wears as Cuba's defense minister for a dark suit, Raul Castro praised Iran and other developing nations for their efforts to create "a better, more just world" after settling into his place at the head of the table at the Group of 15 developing nations meeting on the sidelines of the summit.

Chavez also joined the group, grinning widely after announcing on his way in that he would push to move the United Nations headquarters out of the United States, possibly to Syria, the Brazilian capital, or any other city without an "empire that applies such irresponsible measures" as denying visas to visiting delegations.

Chavez claims the United States has denied visas for members of his security detail and his Cuban doctor to travel to New York for next week's U.N. General Assembly meeting. A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Caracas, however, said the visas were requested too late and are still being processed.

"Our countries have no alternative but to unite and take concerted action to overcome our common obstacles," Raul Castro said, praising the leaders for "their efforts to achieve a more fluid and positive dialogue" between nations in the northern and southern hemispheres.

Castro made an appearance of sorts on the summit's sidelines when state television showed photos of him chatting with an old friend, Argentine congressman Miguel Bonasso, in Castro's home in Havana. Bonasso described Castro as much improved in a first-person article about their encounter in the Pagina/12 newspaper Thursday.

"It may sound incredible, but Fidel was as lucid and penetrating as ever," Bonasso wrote.

Chavez has already met with Castro three times since the 80-year-old Cuban leader announced on July 31 that he had undergone intestinal surgery and was temporarily ceding power to his 75-year-old brother.

Bolivian President Evo Morales also arrived early Thursday, joining an array of U.S. critics whose appearances in Cuba were expected to shape a contentious debate at next week's U.N. General Assembly session over Iran's nuclear ambitions and Venezuela's efforts to join the Security Council.

The summit also has provided a fresh look at the collective leadership that has emerged during Fidel Castro's recovery. Raul has taken on his brother's protocol role, meeting with the leaders of Malaysia, Algeria, Vietnam, while several other top Cuban officials have given forceful speeches.