Following the recent death of Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Republic of Srpska Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic recently offered her condolences.

"I received the news about the sudden death of Ambassador Churkin with great sadness and sorrow,” wrote Cvijanovic. “Russia has lost not only an extraordinary diplomat but also a great patriot who honorably and persistently represented his country, its interest and the people.

Cvijanovic offered her praise of Churkin’s long career and her sadness at his passing in a letter of condolences to Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev and to Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Petar Ivantsov.

"Churkin was a highly respected diplomat with excellent reputation who has in his long diplomatic career contributed a lot to development and preservation of good relations between the Serbian and Russian people,” Cvijanovic said in an annoucement. “On behalf of the Government of Republic of Srpska and my own, I wish to extend my deepest condolences to the family of Ambassador Churkin, to the Russian leadership and to the Russian people."