Havana, Sep 15 (IANS): Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has in an article titled Undeletable Memories applauded the Russia-backed proposal for a commitment to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons.

The risk of the Syrian conflict to explode seems to have diminished thanks to the intelligent Russian initiative, which stood strong before the unusual claim of the US government, reported Xinhua Saturday citing the former president's article.

The article was dated Sep 10 and published in the Cuban press Saturday.

A US attack on Syria could cost thousands of lives and unleash a conflict of unpredictable consequences, Castro said.

He said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "contributed maybe to avoid an immediate global catastrophe".

Castro, 87, said the American people were also opposed to a political adventure that would not only affect their own country but also the humanity.

The Cuban foreign ministry has called for a political solution to the Syrian conflict and rejected "any attempt to undermine its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity".

The US and Russia agreed Saturday on a framework to secure and destroy Syria's chemical weapons by mid-2014.

The UN would impose penalties on the Bashar al-Assad government if it failed to comply.