Russia's UN envoy Churkin buried in Moscow

By Hakan Ceyhan Aydogan

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia’s former Permanent Representative to the UN, Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin, was buried on Friday in Moscow.

Churkin's family, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign ministry staff attended a memorial for the former diplomat at Moscow's Central Clinic Hospital.

Churkin died "suddenly in New York on Feb. 20, a day ahead of his 65th birthday,” according to a statement issued by the Russian foreign ministry.

President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order awarding Churkin the Order of Courage, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Churkin had served as UN ambassador from April 2006.