Gorbachev praises 'outstanding' Jaruzelski

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev today praised Poland's Communist-era strongman Wojciech Jaruzelski as an "outstanding" man who stuck by his principles despite difficult times.

Gorbachev said he always considered Jaruzelski a friend after the two worked together in the turbulent 1980s that saw the beginnings of reforms in Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe.

"He was an outstanding man. He never had an easy fate, but he did a lot for Poland," Gorbachev told the ITAR-TASS news agency after Jaruzelski's death on Sunday aged 90.

"He was a soldier, he fought with us against fascism and he maintained his choice of Socialism to the end," Gorbachev said.
 

"He was a very decent man who always stayed true to his principles.