President Aliyev sends get-well message to Cuba's ailing Castro

Elmar Mammadyarov, Azerbaijan's foreign minister, delivered the message Friday in a meeting with Juan Almeida Bosque, a vice president in Castro's Cabinet and a retired military officer who fought in the early years of the Cuban revolution, a front-page article in the Communist Party daily Granma said.

Almeida has played a more visible role in diplomatic affairs as part of a collective leadership taking hold since the 80-year-old Castro ceded power to his younger brother, Defense Minister Raul Castro, on July 31.

The elder Castro, who is recovering from intestinal surgery, has made no public appearances since then, though he has been shown in photographs and videos receiving visits from several world leaders in recent weeks.

The foreign minister of Azerbaijan also met with Cuban Parliament Speaker Ricardo Alarcon, Foreign Investment Minister Marta Lomas and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, Granma said.

/The International Herald Tribune/