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TASS
Tne newspaper New York Times published an article, former permanent U.S. representative to the UN, Samantha Power, where she shared her impressions of working with the recently deceased Ambassador of Russia to the UN Vitaly Churkin.
“He was loyally defended the terrible actions of President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine and Syria. But at the same time, he was a master of words with an epic sense of humor, a good friend and one of the best hopes to the United States and Russia worked together. I am grief-stricken over his death,” said MS Power. Former us Ambassador to the UN said that the beginning of her career with stories about Mr. Churkin. “When I came to new York, my predecessor Susan rice told me, “invest in your relationship with Churkin. It will drive you crazy, but you will need each other”… Because Russia has veto power in the Security Council, I needed support for Vitali to get a conviction Council to send peacekeepers to conflict zones or to impose sanctions against countries violating or individual citizens,” wrote Samantha Power.
Thus, according to her, a lot of speeches in the UN were accompanied by “sharp, and sometimes venomous statements” against each other. “But ultimately, we knew that we must work together, and we worked, including imposed the toughest ever sanctions against North Korea, helped to fight the Ebola epidemic and elected a new Secretary General”, said MS Power. She highlighted the attachment Vitaly Churkin to his home country of Russia, its culture and traditions. “Despite the fact that he never shared with me my point of view about their President, I felt that he appreciated the fact that Putin has restored Russia’s importance on the world stage, but I prefer peace methods”,— said the author of the publication.
According to Samantha Power, Mr Churkin did not consider as a sign of protest against the actions of the Russian President his resignation from the post of Ambassador. “But even if he did, then most likely it would be replaced by someone less willing to make compromises that would weaken the ability of the UN to strengthen peace and security, and in the future would undermine Russian-American relations,” opined the former US Ambassador to the UN. “While other American diplomats came to the UN and left there, there was one veteran: Vitaly Churkin — formidable enemy, a caring friend and fierce defender of Russia, the country he loved and where proud,”— she concluded.
Recall that Mr. Churkin died February 20 in new York the day before your 65th birthday. On 24 February he was buried in Moscow on Troekurov cemetery, and before that, Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov handed over to the widow of Ambassador Irina Churkinoj the Order of Courage, who was posthumously awarded the diplomat. Temporary attorney appointed first Deputy permanent representative of Russia to the organization by Pyotr Ilyich.