UN mourns death of Russian Ambassador

The UN Headquarters in New York on Monday mourned the death of the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin.

The Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Mr Farhan Haq, told UN Correspondents that Churkin died suddenly in New York on Monday.

“The General Assembly today held a moment of silence honouring the memory of the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, who died suddenly this morning in New York.

“During a meeting of the Assembly on the reform of the world body, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative, Petr Iliichev, informed those present about Ambassador Churkin’s sudden passing.

“The seasoned diplomat, who would have turned 65 tomorrow, served as Permanent Representative since 2006,” Haq said.

Churkin, a career diplomat, had previously served as Russia’s ambassador to Canada and Belgium before taking up the post at the UN in 2006.