Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the permanent representative of Russia to the UN Vitaly Churkin, who died the day before, one of the most prominent diplomats, a true patriot and citizen. The text of the telegram of condolence the wife of Ambassador Irina Churkinoj and his children Anastasia and Maxim published on the Kremlin website.
“His untimely death is a severe, truly an irreparable loss for Russian foreign policy. And because it happened so suddenly, the pain of loss is felt particularly acutely,” wrote Putin.
The President also noted that Churkin was a man of deep intelligence, and extraordinary energy and thus possessed a rare charm and sense of humor. His merits cannot be overestimated, said Putin.
Most clearly the ability of the diplomat was evident during his work with the Ambassador to the UN, the report says.
“For more than 10 years, sometimes in extremely arduous conditions, he firmly and consistently defended the Russian position on major international issues, which required enormous effort and complete dedication,” he said, adding that the diplomat brilliantly solved the problem and did not know defeat.
Earlier official representative of the foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called Churkin great diplomat. The head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov suggested that the diplomat “died in the line of duty as a warrior of the Motherland.”
Condolences were also expressed by US Ambassador in Moscow John Tefft and former permanent representatives to the United States to the world organization of Samantha Power and Susan rice.
Vitaly Churkin died in new York on 20 February, the day before your 65th birthday. According to the newspaper The New York Post, this morning the diplomat fell ill due to “heart problems”, the death was caused by a heart attack.
The diplomat held the post of Russia’s envoy at the UN since 2006.