Trump: Churkin Played ‘Crucial Role’ in Working With US

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00:36 22.02.2017(updated 01:15 22.02.2017) Get short URL

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Donald Trump said that Vitaly Churkin had played a vital role in working with the United States on major challenges to global security.

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Churkin’s Distinctive Voice to Be Missed at UN - Secretary-General

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Late Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin has played a vital role in working with the United States on major challenges to global security, US President Donald Trump said in a statement.

"While American officials sometimes disagreed with their Russian counterparts, Ambassador Churkin played a crucial role in working with the United States on a number of key issues to advance global security," Trump stated on Tuesday.

Trump also offered condolences to the Russian people and government.

Churkin died in New York on February 20. The diplomat would have turned 65 on Tuesday, February 21.

Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin dies day before turning 65

Published time: 20 Feb, 2017 17:12Edited time: 20 Feb, 2017 19:18

Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations since 2006, "died suddenly" in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced.

Churkin would have turned 65 on Tuesday. 

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We offer sincere condolences to the family of Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin.#Churkin #UN #Russia #condolences

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The announcement "of the untimely passing away of Ambassador Vitaly Churkin this morning" was met with shock when it was delivered during a session at the UN headquarters.

"He was a dear colleague of all of us, a deeply committed diplomat of his country and one of the finest people we have known," a UN official who delivered the news to her colleagues said.

Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin dies (SPECIAL COVERAGE)

Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin dies (SPECIAL COVERAGE) de RT

Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations since 2006, "died suddenly" in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air Subscribe to RT! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=RussiaToday Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/RTnews Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/RT_com Follow us on Instagram http://instagram.com/rt Follow us on Google+ http://plus.google.com/+RT Listen to us on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/rttv RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 1 billion YouTube views benchmark.