(VOVworld) – Many world leaders and media have expressed their condolences and esteem for General Vo Nguyen Giap. Raul Castro, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers, sent messages of condolence to the Vietnamese Party, state, and government leaders. Mr. Castro said Cuban people always remember General Giap with deep respect and honour. General Vo Nguyen Giap’s revolutionary merit will always live in Cuban people’s hearts as the ultimate symbol of the friendship between the two nations.

General Vo Nguyen Giap at Ba Dinh square on January 1, 1955

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry released a communiqué on General Vo Nguyen Giap’s death, saying that it’s also a great loss for the Venezuelan people. The communiqué said President Nicolas Maduro wishes to express his deepest condolences for this great loss to the Vietnamese people. A state funeral service in honor of General Giap will be held on October 13 and a burial service will be held the same day in the General’s home province of Quang Binh.

General Khiupenhen Anatoli Ivanovich, who headed the Soviet Union’s military expert delegation to Vietnam from 1972 to 1975, called General Vo Nguyen Giap a source of national pride. “General Vo Nguyen Giap was an eminent world leader. Even his adversaries praised him as a brilliant military strategist. He was the “right hand” of President Ho Chi Minh. He was a man of great humanity who always cared about others. I’m proud to have been an expert assisting Vietnam during the period when General Vo Nguyen Giap led the Vietnamese People’s Army. I’m very sad and would like to share my sorrow with my Vietnamese friends for General Giap’s death.”