Free Republic

Found on Wikileaks: John McCain, who once called Russia a bigger threat than terrorism, asked Vitaly Churkin for campaign money during the 2008 election. He was turned down.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Russian officials say its ambassador to the United Nations has died suddenly in New York City. Vitaly Churkin was 64. 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. Churkin has been Russia's envoy at the United Nations for a little over a decade and was considered Moscow's great champion at the U.N.

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations has died. Vitaly Churkin, who would have celebrated his 65th birthday on Tuesday, died suddenly while at work in New York on Monday, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. The cause of the veteran diplomat's death is unclear.