HAVANA - In a New Year's message, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Saturday he was recovering slowly from abdominal surgery and thanked his people for their courage during his recuperation.

"Concerning my recovery I always said it would be a long process, but it's far from being a lost battle," said Castro's message, which was read out on state-run radio stations.

"I have not stopped being informed of the most important information and events. I discuss them with my closest comrades when cooperation on vital matters is called for."

The 80-year-old Cuban leader praised Cubans "maturity and calm" in recent months and took a swipe at "global imperialism" for consuming the world's resources and destroying the environment, before wishing Cubans a happy New Year.

Castro has not appeared in public since July, when he had surgery for a condition that is being treated as a state secret. He temporarily handed power to his younger brother Raul Castro, Cuba's veteran defense minister.

Fidel Castro's prolonged absence from the public eye has fueled speculation that he is terminally ill. He was last seen in video images released October 28 that showed a frail man who had difficulty walking.

Cuba has been keen to show that Castro is still involved in state matters, but U.S. officials in Washington suspect Castro has cancer, though they have offered no evidence to back that up. U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte told The Washington Post on December 15 that Castro was likely to die within months.

However, a Spanish surgeon who examined Castro said last week that he does not have cancer, is making a good recovery from the surgery and could return to governing Cuba.

Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, head of surgery at Madrid's Gregorio Maranon hospital, said Castro did not need further surgery but required physical therapy, a strict diet and rest.

"He does not have cancer, he has a problem with his digestive system," Garcia Sabrido told Reuters.