Article snippet: UNITED NATIONS — Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, who represented his country through times of domestic tumult and rising tensions with the West, died on Monday morning while at work in Manhattan. He would have turned 65 on Tuesday. The Russian government said he died suddenly but did not specify a cause. The New York City police said there were no indications of foul play. “The outstanding Russian diplomat died in harness,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter. The United Nations observed a moment of silence on Monday. His death comes at a critical juncture in Russian-American relations, amid allegations of Russian interference in the United States presidential election and President Trump’s praise for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent years, and diplomats have been watching whether the dynamics will change under the Trump administration with the appointment of Nikki R. Haley to be the American United Nations envoy. This month, she condemned what she called Russia’s “aggressive” actions in Ukraine. Mr. Churkin, on the same day, lauded her track record in politics. She was governor of South Carolina when Mr. Trump appointed her. “I never underestimate my colleagues,” Mr. Churkin told reporters before posting on Twitter a picture of their first private meeting. Mr. Churkin had been unusually absent during several Security Council meetings... Link to the full article to read more