Medvedev, Fidel Castro meet in Cuba

HAVANA, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro met in Havana Saturday, discussing further ties between the countries, officials said.

The former Cold War allies met for more than an hour, also addressing international politics, Medvedev's press secretary Natalia Timakova told RIA Novosti.

Castro, who at age 82 stepped down this year as Cuban president in favor his brother Raul Castro, has been out of the public eye since undergoing abdominal surgery two years ago. But he has continued to meet visiting heads of state, such as Chinese leader Hu Jintao earlier this month, the Russian news agency said.

Russian officials said Medvedev arrived in Cuba after visiting Venezuela, where he and President Hugo Chavez signed an arms deal and an agreement to cooperate in oil production, and also talked about plans to jointly build a nuclear power plant in Venezuela.