In a rare show of cooperation with the United States, Fidel Castro agreed to let U.S. experts visit Cuba to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Wilma.

BY ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

HAVANA - President Fidel Castro has confirmed that Cuba agreed to let three U.S. aid officials visit the island to assess damage from Hurricane Wilma's assault on the island this week.

But during a Thursday night television appearance, he made it clear that his idea in letting them visit was to discuss ways to improve disaster assistance among countries in the region.

''Cuba has not solicited international aid,'' Castro said during a regular public affairs problem, reading from the diplomatic note his country sent to the U.S. government accepting the visit.

''It shares, however, the point of view'' that countries in the region should ``provide each other with mutual assistance in situations of disaster.''

The State Department had announced earlier Thursday that Cuba agreed to let three experts from the U.S. Agency for International Development visit in a rare show of cooperation.

Waist-deep water coursed through the streets of Havana earlier this week, chunks of the city's famous Malecón seawall were ripped off, and already-crumbling buildings along the coastal highway were battered by high winds and waves.

Cuba has routinely turned down U.S. offers of assistance during disasters over the years. According to the State Department's Cuba experts, this was the first time the Castro government has accepted a U.S. offer of emergency assistance, department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The display of U.S.-Cuba cooperation was not expected to produce any easing in the friction between the two countries. U.S. policy is to seek a democratic transition in Cuba once the 79-year-old Castro is gone, rather than accept a regime-orchestrated succession. The U.S. trade embargo dates back more than 40 years, and Castro has waged a decades-long struggle against U.S. interests.

Nevertheless, the Cuban leader seemed impressed by what he considered to be the ''respectful'' tone of the letter offering assistance sent by the new chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Michael Parmly.

Castro had a particularly contentious relationship with Parmly's predecessor, James Cason, who he once characterized as a ''bully.'' After Hurricane Dennis pummeled the island in July, Castro expressed gratitude for Washington's offer of $50,000 in aid but rejected it.

Havana offered 1,600 doctors to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast in August. The State Department said the Cuban help was not needed because enough U.S. doctors had offered their services.

It was unclear when the three aid experts would arrive in Cuba. Any offers to help Cuba would be based on what that team found, and all aid would be distributed through independent groups, McCormack said.