Cuban Consul in Costa Rica Jorge Rodríguez commented yesterday on a popular topic around the world – the health of 81-year-old Cuban President Fidel Castro. This famous leader is “very recuperated” from his recent health problems, Rodríguez said.

However, no date has been set for Castro to resume the responsibilities he handed over to his brother Raúl Castro before he had major surgery in late July, he said.

“It is a general opinion that his appearance is much better... Fidel in reality has been recuperating and is participating more in a lot of things,” Rodríguez told the wire service ACAN-EFE.

Fidel resuming his presidential duties depends on his “recuperation, determination” and the recommendations of doctors, he said.

Fidel “has no reason to rush. The world has seen that the country has continued to function normally and he has continued working toward his recuperation, even in his most critical moments when he had recently been operated on,” he said.

The diplomat said that at one point the President was “very thin” after losing more than 46 kilograms in one month, but that he has since gotten stronger and is likely to recover completely, he said.

Fidel was last seen in public on July 26, 2006, and since then rumors have circulated about his health.

Photos of him receiving Wu Guanzheng, secretary of the Central Disciplinary Control Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, were posted Friday on the Web site of Granma, the Cuban government's daily.

The President, dressed in a sweatsuit, is standing and shaking the leader's hand.