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 But Castro stopped short of an enthusiastic endorsement of the
rapprochement, announced on Dec. 17 by his younger brother and
Cuba's current president, Raul Castro, and U.S. President Barack
Obama.
"I don't trust the policy of the United States nor have I had an
exchange with them, but this does not mean ... a rejection of a
peaceful solution to conflicts or the dangers of war," Fidel Castro,
88, said in a statement published on the website of Cuba's Communist
Party newspaper Granma.
The United States and Cuba held historic high-level talks last week
in Havana that are expected to lead to the re-establishment of
diplomatic ties severed by Washington in 1961.
 "Any peaceful or negotiated solution to the problems between the
United States and the peoples or any people of Latin America that
doesn't imply force or the use of force should be treated in
accordance with international norms and principles," Fidel Castro
said.
"We will always defend cooperation and friendship with all the
peoples of the world, among them our political adversaries."
He took power in a 1959 revolution and spent much of his 49 years in
power railing against the United States, which never succeeded in
many attempts to oust him.
He was finally forced into retirement in 2008 by poor health and was
succeeded by his brother Raul, who is now 83.
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"The president of Cuba has taken the pertinent steps in accordance
with his prerogatives and the powers given to him by the National
Assembly the Communist Party of Cuba," Fidel Castro said of his
brother in the statement.
His silence on the issue had led to speculation over his health and
whether he supported his brother's rapprochement with the United
States.
On Jan. 12, he sent a letter to friend and retired Argentine soccer
star Diego Maradona that squelched rumors he had died.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Kieran
Murray)
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