Cuban President Fidel Castro meets with Argentine congressman Miguel Bonasso, as he recovers from stomach surgery in Havana where heads of state and representatives of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement gathered for a summit, on Wednesday. - Reuters

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters):

Cuban President Fidel Castro says he has started putting on weight again, in his first interview since the 80-year-old communist leader fell ill and adding to growing evidence he is recovering from life-threatening surgery.

"I lost 41 pounds, but I'm putting weight back on - already almost half of what I lost," the leftist firebrand told Argentine journalist, lawmaker and friend Miguel Bonasso.

"You have to do things one step at a time. You must remember that the machine being repaired is 80 years old," Castro joked, regarding the pace of his recovery.

The interview with leftist Argentine newspaper Pagina 12 showed that Castro was well enough to get out of bed to greet his visitor, but gave no indication whether he would appear at the summit of Non-Aligned developing nations under way in Havana.