UN, August 31. /TASS/. The first president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, was a statesman who changed the course of history and did more than anyone else to bring a peaceful end to the Cold War, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

"I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, a one-of-a kind statesman who changed the course of history. He did more than any other individual to bring about the peaceful end of the Cold War," the UN Secretary-General said, "On behalf of the United Nations, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Mikhail Gorbachev’s family and to the people and government of the Russian Federation."

"Receiving the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, he observed that ‘peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity’. He put this vital insight into practice by pursuing the path of negotiation, reform, transparency and disarmament," the statement said.

Guterres pointed out that Gorbachev recently has taken on a new challenge necessary for the well-being of humanity: creating a sustainable future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment. "It was in this spirit that he founded Green Cross International.The world has lost a towering global leader, committed multilateralist, and tireless advocate for peace," Guterres said.

Mikhail Gorbachev died at the Central Clinical Hospital on August 30 at the age of 91.