Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to posthumously award the Order of Courage to Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, who died in New York.
The Kremlin’s press-service has said the award is for his "dedication, staunchness and high professionalism displayed in the capacity of Russia’s permanent representative at the United Nations."
Vitaly Churkin died on Feb. 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. Churkin died at his office desk, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Source: TASS