More tests needed on Russian ambassador
Medical examiners who performed an autopsy on Russia's ambassador to the United Nations say more tests are needed to determine how and why he fell ill in his office and later died at a hospital.
Vitaly Churkin, who died on Monday at age 64, had been Russia's envoy at the UN since 2006.
He was the longest-serving ambassador on the Security Council, the UN's most powerful body.
The city's medical examiners said Churkin's death needed further study, which usually includes toxicology and other screenings.
Churkin's case was referred to the medical examiner's office by the hospital.
Moscow has not given a date for Churkin's funeral.
Diplomatic colleagues from around the world mourned Churkin as a master in their field, saying he was deeply knowledgeable about diplomacy and dedicated to his country while also being a personable and witty colleague.
"He could spot even the narrowest opportunities to find a compromise," US ambassador Nikki Haley said on Tuesday, calling Churkin "brilliant, wise, gracious and funny".
President Donald Trump said he was "saddened" by the unexpected death, calling Churkin "an accomplished diplomat".
The president acknowledged in a statement on Tuesday that Churkin and his US counterparts "sometimes disagreed", but he "played a crucial role in working with the United States on a number of key issues to advance global security".
Ukraine holds the Security Council's rotating presidency, and Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko led members in a moment of silence in Churkin's memory on Tuesday.
Yelchenko did not add his own words to the tributes that followed, though Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin gave condolences when reporters asked afterward.
While noting "fundamental differences" with Churkin's political positions and how he presented them, that divide "does not put us away from our point of expressing human condolences", Klimkin said.
