Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to U.N., dies in NYC

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations since 2006, died Monday in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced.

The U.N. observed a moment of silence for Churkin, who would have turned 65 on Tuesday.

"Shocked and saddened to learn that Ambassador Vitaly Churkin passed away," tweeted Alexander Yakovenko, the Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom. "A top diplomat and a good friend."

Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov, told The Associated Press that Churkin became ill in his office at Russia’s U.N. mission and was taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where he died Monday. His cause of death wasn’t immediately known.

"He was an outstanding person. He was brilliant, bright, a great diplomat of our age," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Russian agency RT. She described the news of Churkin's death was "completely shocking."

Former U.S. ambassadors to the U.N. tweeted similar thoughts.

• Samantha Power: "Devastated by passing of Russian UN Amb Vitaly Churkin.Diplomatic maestro &deeply caring man who did all he cld to bridge US-RUS differences"
• Susan Rice: "Vitaly was a formidable adversary, but always a friend. My heartfelt condolences to his wife, Irina, his family and the Russian UN Mission"

Vladimir Putin issued a statement expressing his condolences to Churkin's love ones as well as the staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Churkin previously served as ambassador to Belgium and Canada, and liaison ambassador to NATO. In the 2000s he was ambassador at large at Russia's Foreign Ministry, and in the early 1990s he served as the special representative of the Russian president to the talks on the former Yugoslavia, RT reports.