MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cuba Says UN Annan To Attend Nonaligned Movement Summit

Cuba's foreign minister said Sunday it was not certain that

Fidel Castro will host a dinner for visiting leaders as noted in a schedule, raising doubts over whether the ailing leader would make his first public appearance since undergoing surgery.

A dinner hosted by Castro for dignitaries attending this week's Nonaligned Movement summit was mentioned in a schedule sent Sunday by the government to international media.

But Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said he could not confirm the leader's participation in the Friday event. "Fidel is recovering satisfactorily, the worst has been left behind," Perez Roque said at a news conference.

"I cannot yet confirm his presence at the dinner," Perez Roque said. "I can confirm that the head of the Cuban delegation at that moment will be offering those dignitaries that dinner."

The 80-year-old leader announced July 31 he had undergone emergency surgery for an undisclosed intestinal ailment and provisionally handed over power as Cuba's president and Communist Party head to his younger brother, 75-year-old Defense Minister Raul Castro.

"If Fidel is not there, then Raul will act as host at the dinner," Perez Roque said.

"Logically, the physical absence of Fidel in all of the summit work constitutes a notable loss," Perez Roque said. "All of us would like him to head the delegation and be there all the time. If that does not occur, we have made great preparations under his personal direction."

After the news conference, a different version of the Nonaligned schedule was sent to international journalists permanently accredited in Cuba, with a note saying it was the "valid" version. Although the Friday night dinner was still listed, any mention of Castro hosting it had been removed.

Dozens of heads of state and government are expected for the summit starting Monday in Havana, during which Malaysia will turn over the chairmanship of the movement to Cuba for the next three years.

The nature of Castro's surgery and his specific ailment have been treated as a state secret, although photographs and statements from him have been released.

Earlier in the week, Castro said in a statement published in state media he would be able to meet with some visiting dignitaries, but gave the sense that those meetings would be small and private.

Since falling ill in late July, Castro has met privately three times with his good friend and key political ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and met privately last week with Bolivian President Evo Morales.

Photographs of Castro in his sickbed, then later sitting up in a chair in his pajamas, taken during two of Chavez's visits were published in state newspapers in an apparent effort to assure Cubans that the man who has ruled Cuba for 47 years was getting better.

Early Sunday, Cuba's International Press Center sent the meeting schedule by e-mail to international news organizations based in Havana that are covering the event. The schedule for Friday read: "20:30 hours: Official welcome dinner offered by his Excellency Mr. Fidel Castro Ruz. ..."

International Press Center officials later said that version of the schedule was sent in error.

It was not immediately clear from the summit schedule if Castro would be involved in any of the work sessions. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also is scheduled to attend, along with the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, Syria, India and Thailand.

Representatives are coming from most of the 116 nonaligned nations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The only member that declined was Comoros Islands, which cited financial reasons.