-DATE- 19711111 -YEAR- 1971 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- INTERVIEW -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- 11 NOVEMBER PRESS CONFERENCE -PLACE- CHILE -SOURCE- SANTIAGO PRENSA LATINA -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19711112 -TEXT- 11 November Press Conference Santiago Chile PRENSA LATINA in Spanish to PRENSA LATINA Havana 1830 GMT 11 Nov 71 C--FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY [Excerpts] Santiago, Chile, 11 Nov--by PRENSA LATINA Correspondent Jorge Timossi-- Cuban Prime Minister Maj Fidel Castro and the high-level group accompanying him had lunch today at the private residence of Chilean President Salvador Allende. Prior to the luncheon, the diplomatic corps greeted Maj Fidel Castro at the residence of Cuban Ambassador Mario Garcia Inchaustegui at exactly 1200 [1500 GMT]. Maj Fidel Castro greeted each of the chiefs of foreign missions, among which were the apostolic nuncio, the dean of the diplomatic corps, and the Peruvian ambassador. The Cuban minister held a frank and informal conversation with the diplomats for one and one-half hours in the embassy garden. Once members of the diplomatic corps had departed, a group of foreign reports succeeded in entering the gardens and the Cuban leader agreed to answer several questions on international affairs. The first question dealt with a subject about which the Cuban leaders and government have spoken on many occasions: Cuba's interest in joining the Organization of American states. Maj Fidel Castro said: No, we have no interest whatsoever, not even if we were asked by all of the OAS member-countries. Asked how he views the current situation in Latin America, he answered: "I have always been optimistic that in the long run our peoples will progress." A correspondent of an Argentine magazine asked if he was willing to visit Argentian and Uruguay if invited. Fidel answered: "It depends on the circumstances." Answering another question Fidel Castro said: "U.S. imperialism is on the way to total deterioration. This deterioration stems from the irreconciliable differences between imperialism and the Latin American people." -END-