Fidel Castro Was 'Sincere Friend' of Russia, Remarkable Politician

Cuba’s deceased revolutionary leader Fidel Castro will go down in history as a remarkable politician and a sincere friend of Russia, former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Fidel Castro, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, died late Friday at the age of 90. His death was announced by his brother and the incumbent Cuban president, Raul Castro.

"Comandante Fidel was and will remain in history as a remarkable figure of his time," Ivanov told RIA Novosti. "Fidel Castro had a mixed reaction to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the events that followed … But Fidel realized what role Russia played on the global arena, recognized this role and was always a sincere friend of Russia."

Ivanov said he had met the Cuban leader in person several times while working as an interpreter on Cuba in the 1960s and visited the Caribbean island nation during his tenure as Russia’s foreign minister in 1998-2004 and later as secretary of the Russian Security Council.

He described the late revolutionary as a man of principle that had an opinion on all key issues of international significance, as well as an "unpredictable" politician who would sometimes break with the protocol and go meet a foreign delegation himself.