UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement on the sudden death of Russian Ambassador Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin
On February 20 at UN Headquarters in New York, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the following statement on the sudden death of Russian Ambassador Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin.
“I have just returned to New York and have learned with shock and sadness of the news on the sudden passing of Ambassador Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin, who was an outstanding diplomat.”
According to the statement, “Ambassador Churkin served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation with distinction through some of the most challenging and momentous periods of recent history. In 2006, he was appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations. For more than a decade, Ambassador Churkin was a forceful presence on the Security Council, and was a uniquely skilled diplomat, a powerful orator with great wit, and a man of many talents and interests,” stated the Secretary-General.
In his concluding remarks, Antonio Guterres said:
“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. I pay tribute to his contributions to the United Nations and offer my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and to the Government and people of the Russian Federation.”
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