Former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl died on June 16 aged 87
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will represent Russia at the European-wide memorial ceremony for former Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl, the Russian government’s press service said.
“Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will take part in the memorial ceremony for the former Chancellor of Germany on July 1 in Strasbourg,” the Cabinet reported.
The memorial ceremony that is intended to stress both the national and European-wide authority of the politician will be held on July 1 in France’s Strasbourg, where the European Parliament is located. Up to now, the European Council has never organized such commemorations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. As the Kremlin’s press service reported, he stressed that Kohl had played a key role in the cold war termination and the country’s reunification. In his telegram, Putin noted that he “always admired his wisdom and the ability to take balanced and farsighted decisions even in most complicated situations.” The Russian president added that Russia will remember Helmut Kohl “as a principled supporter of the development of friendly ties between our countries, who made a great contribution to the strengthening of mutually-beneficial bilateral partnership and good-neighborly relations.”
Kohl died on June 16 aged 87 in his house in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. He served as a Chancellor of Germany for 16 years, from 1982 to 1998.