Russia’s ambassador to United Nations falls ill, dies at 64

NEW YORK — Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, a veteran diplomat known as a potent, savvy yet personable voice for his country’s interests who could both spar and get along with his Western counterparts, fell ill and died suddenly Monday in his office at Russia’s U.N. mission.

Vitaly Churkin was taken to a hospital, where he died a day before his 65th birthday, said Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Vladimir Safronkov. The cause of his death was unknown.

As Russia’s envoy at the United Nations since 2006 and a diplomat for decades, Churkin was considered Moscow’s great champion at the U.N., where he was the longest-serving ambassador on the powerful Security Council.

Russian President Vladimir Putin esteemed Churkin’s “professionalism and diplomatic talents,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the state news agency TASS. Diplomatic colleagues from around the world mourned Churkin as a master in their field: a passionate and effective advocate for his country; an intellectual with a doctorate in history who was also a onetime child actor with an acute wit; a formidable adversary who could remain a friend.

“We did not always see things the same way, but he unquestionably advocated his country’s positions with great skill,” U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement.

Her predecessor, Samantha Power, described him on Twitter as a “diplomatic maestro and deeply caring man” who had done all he could to bridge differences between the U.S. and Russia.

Churkin’s death stunned officials at U.N. headquarters, where the news emerged in the midst of a routine briefing for reporters. He died weeks into some major adjustments for Russia, the U.N. and the international community, with a new secretary-general at the world body and a new administration in Washington. Meanwhile, the Security Council is due this week to discuss Ukraine and Syria, points of contention between Russia and the U.S. and some other Western countries.

The U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for insurgents in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, the United States, Britain and France have been pressing the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on the Syrian government for using chemical weapons.