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UN diplomats mourn Russia’s Churkin
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RUSSIA’S ambassador to the United Nations who died suddenly after falling ill at his office at Russia’s UN mission is being remembered by his diplomatic colleagues as a powerful and passionate voice for his nation.
Vitaly Churkin was taken to a hospital, where he died on Monday, according to Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Vladimir Safronkov. He would have turned 65 yesterday. The cause of his death was not known.
Churkin had been Russia’s envoy at the United Nations since 2006. He was the longest-serving ambassador on the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called him “a uniquely skilled diplomat, a powerful orator with great wit, and a man of many talents and interests.”
“Although we served together for a short time, I greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with him and will deeply miss his insights, skills and friendship,” Guterres said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin esteemed Churkin’s “professionalism and diplomatic talents,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow.
Diplomatic colleagues from around the world mourned Churkin as a master in their field, saying he had both a deep knowledge of diplomacy and a large and colorful personality.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said that while she and Churkin did not always agree, “he unquestionably advocated his country’s positions with great skill.”
Churkin emerged as the face of a new approach to foreign affairs by the Soviet Union in 1986, when he testified before the US Congress about the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. It was rare for any Soviet official to appear before Congress.
In fluent English, Churkin provided little new information about Chernobyl but engaged in a friendly, sometimes humorous, exchange with lawmakers.
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