Cuba's Castro says too weak to speak in public

By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Wednesday he is not strong enough to speak in public more than 17 months after stomach surgery forced him to hand over power to his brother.

Castro's long illness -- he last appeared in public on July 26, 2006-- has raised speculation about his possible retirement when Cuba's legislature, the National Assembly, sits in March.

"I am not physically able to speak directly to the citizens of the municipality where I was nominated for our elections next Sunday," Castro said in a essay published by Cuba's state-run newspapers.

The 81-year-old leader looked frail but more alert in video images broadcast on Cuban television of a meeting he had on Tuesday with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The video showed the two men playfully taking photographs of each other. Castro, standing in a corridor, gave Lula a big hug when he left, saying: "I have felt very well."

Castro wore a tracksuit top over his pajamas, as in other video appearances during his long convalescence, and engaged in lively conversation with Lula.

It was the first video clip of Castro since a meeting three months ago with his main ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Lula said the Cuban leader was "incredibly lucid" and did most of the talking during the two-and-a-half-hour meeting. He said Castro was well enough to return to politics in Cuba.