Primakov was perfect professional and a man of honor - Federation Council
MOSCOW. June 26 (Interfax) - The Federation Council has extended condolences over the death of Yevgeny Primakov.
"He was a person of the highest patriotism, he was a great Russian and a great citizen of the world. Despite the fact that he has lived to an old age, his departure is an irreparable loss, in the direct sense of the word," Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Federation Council's committee on international affairs, told Interfax on Friday.
Kosachev said he worked with Primakov for many years and was his aide. "In all his actions and in all his decisions he proceeded from the interests of statehood, he was a perfect professional and a man of honor. Such a combination does not happen in every generation of people and in every country," Kosachev said.
Primakov's activity in all senior posts that he held never decreased until the last days of his life, Kosachev said. "In all his initiatives, he continued working for Russia and bringing it real, significant and very sought-after use until the last day," he said.
The senator said Primakov treated him not so much as his aide, but as a friend. "It was always a great honor to me. Unfortunately, I did not finish reading his last book Russian Crossroads yesterday, I hoped to visit him and discuss this book, which I liked very much, with him. Now it won't happen, unfortunately, but he will always stay with me, with everyone who will always remember and love him," Kosachev said.
"His life and work totally obviously went beyond the framework of one nation and one country," Kosachev said.
Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Federation Council committee on defense and security, called Primakov "a man of steel."
"A whole era is gone with Yevgeny Maximovich - an era of creation, an era of deep understanding of internal and international issues, he made a big personal contribution to ensure that our country's parity on the international scene is at a high level. He was a man of steel without any exaggeration," Ozerov told Interfax.
Ozerov said Primakov always had a sense of humor, despite the scale and seriousness of his work in state positions. "He had a great sense of humor. He had encyclopedic knowledge and amazing human qualities. He was a highly decent man. He was a standard of human decency," Ozerov said.
"The scale was felt in everything: in his views on historical events that took place in Russia and in his views on the current events and on the perspective. The fact that there will not be such a person in Russia anymore can only be sincerely and deeply regretted," Ozerov said.
Primakov died in Moscow on Friday.
