Castro too ill to chair NAM

HAVANA, Sep 15 (Reuters) Cuban leader Fidel Castro is recovering but still too ill to chair a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement of developing nations, Cuba's foreign minister said today, meaning a much anticipated public appearance at the meeting is unlikely.

''His health is improving continuously and his convalescence is satisfactory ... but the doctors have insisted that he continue resting, and thus he will not lead the Cuban delegation at the summit,'' Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the summit.

Castro's state of health has loomed at the summit at which Iran and other prominent opponents of U.S. policy are seeking to forge a united front.

State television showed Castro, 80, standing up briefly to greet friend and ally Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, on Thursday.

Chavez said later Castro was walking and singing.

Castro also met U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday.

Castro, who since 1959 has embodied opposition to the United States, had ceded chairmanship of the summit to his brother Raul Castro, who had already temporally taken over Cuba's presidency since Fidel Castro fell ill in late July.

Chavez had earlier played down the importance of Castro's presence. ''Even if he is not physically among us today or tomorrow, that doesn't matter. He is running all this,'' he said.

To some, the summit could appear a rogue's gallery of U.S. foes, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and leaders from North Korea, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Bolivia, all gathering on an island under a U.S. embargo since 1962.

Washington was eager to play down such associations, pointing out the summit also included countries such as Pakistan, India, the Philippines and Indonesia that have forged closer alliances with the United States since the September 11 attacks.

Senior leaders from Iraq and Afghanistan, both recent U.S.

allies, were also due to attend.

FRIENDS OF AMERICA ''We have a lot of friends who are represented at this meeting -- Indonesia, India among them,'' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.

''It's a gathering that has its origins in another era .... And I think it's really up to the participants and the member states to see what it is that they make of this gathering.'' Venezuela was also using the summit to lobby for votes to win a seat on the United National Security Council in the face of U.S.

opposition.

''The Arab League says yes, the U.S. says no, almost all of Africa says yes, the U.S. says no, Russia says yes, the U.S. says no, China says yes, now that's already a big victory, let's just wait for the results,'' Chavez said yesterday.

''It won't be easy I insist, because there is a big manoeuvre going on, but Venezuela has a moral victory.'' he added.

The conference's final document was still under negotiation and included sharp criticism of Israel over its recent war in Lebanon and a separate document supporting Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy.

The nonaligned movement, established by states to assert independence from Washington and Moscow during the Cold War, now includes 116 nations and a wide range of agendas.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf are due to hold talks in Havana tomorrow, hoping to ease tensions after a year of recriminations over terror attacks and Kashmir.

The two leaders last met a year ago at the United Nations, but expectations for the talks were modest given political pressure both faced at home, the officials said.

Reuters SAM DB2147