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Vitaly Churkin: Outstanding diplomat who 'knew no defeat'

Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin died on February 20, one day before his 65th birthday

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Vitaly Churkin was born in Moscow on February 21, 1952 into the family of an aviation design engineer. He has been Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations since April 8, 2006

© Valentin Kuzmin/Fotokhronika TASS

In 1990-1992 Vitaly Churkin was director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR/Russian Federation

© Vladimir Musaelyan, Eduard Pesov/Fotokhronika TASS

Vitaly Churkin was Russia's Ambassador to Belgium and Liaison Ambassador to NATO and WEU from 1994 to 1998, and the Ambassador to Canada from 1998 to 2003. Photo: US Vice President Al Gore and Russian Ambassador to NATO Vitaly Churkin at NATO headquarters in Brussels, 1995

© AP Photo/Dusan Vranic

Subsequently, Vitaly Churkin served as Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2006. Photo: Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Vitaly Churkin during their meeting in Belgrade, 1995

© AP PHOTO/str

Vitaly Churkin leaving an informal meeting of the members of UN Security Council at the offices of the British Mission to United Nations in New York, 2006

© AP Photo/David Karp

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin at the UN Security Council ministerial meeting, 2015

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Dmitry Medvedev bestowed state award on Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, 2012

© Ekaterina Shtukina/TASS

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and United States’ UN Ambassador Samantha Power interact before an UN Security Council meeting on the Ukraine crisis, 2014

© AP Photo/John Minchillo

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin at United Nations headquarters, 2016

© AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin and Senegal's Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye before a meeting of the UN Security Council regarding nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, 2016

© AP Photo/Jason DeCrow

Russia's ambassador Vitaly Churkin seen ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East at the Security Council Chamber, at the UN Headqurters in New York, 2016

© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

Russian enoy Vitaly Churkin makes a statement during the appointment of the Secretary-General designate, Antonio Guterres of Portugal, at United Nations headquarters, 2016

© AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Russia’s diplomat Vitaly Churkin died on February 20, one day before his 65th birthday. Starting from April 2006 he was Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York and Russia’s representative in the UN Security Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Vitaly Churkin as one of the most prominent diplomats who brilliantly coped with his tasks and never suffered defeats. TASS remembers Vitaly Churkin in this photo gallery.

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