Sao Paulo - Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych on Monday described former Cuban leader Fidel Castro as "a man filled with deep thoughts about what is happening in the world."
In talking to Ukrainian reporters in Sao Paulo about a meeting he had with Castro during a recent visit to Cuba, Yanukovych said that, when he was young, he heard a lot about Castro from Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoi, who was a friend of the then Cuban leader.
"I compared Castro with Georgy Beregovoi – there really is something that makes them similar; first of all, [Castro] is not getting old in spirit, he’s young in spirit," the Ukrainian president said.
Yanukovych also said Castro had interpreted way the Ukrainian president was looking at him as surprise at the Cuban leader’s having aged so much. However, Castro said he was not going to make any changes to his appearance, according to Yanukovych.
"I sometimes look at my pictures. But I look a lot better now than a year ago, I even look well, I’m handsome now," Yanukovych quoted Castro as saying.
Yanukovych said Castro had told him that his brother Raul Castro, who has replaced him at the helm of the state, often phoned him to ask for advice. Fidel Castro said he felt well and that his brother would seek his advice for a long time still.
Castro is "a man filled with deep thoughts about what is happening in the world," Yanukovych said. "I was able to see a man who was full of life, was very energetic, enjoyed life, and who took a very good attitude to Ukraine."
