Putin: Kissinger was outstanding diplomat, wise, farsighted statesman

MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called late U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger an outstanding diplomat and a wise statesman, the Kremlin website said.

"An outstanding diplomat, a wise and farsighted statesman, who enjoyed well-deserved authority throughout the world for decades, has passed away," Putin said in a telegram to Kissinger's spouse Nancy.

The name of Henry Kissinger is inextricably linked with "a pragmatic foreign policy, which at one time made it possible to achieve detente in international tensions, alongside crucial Soviet-U.S. agreements that contributed to the strengthening of global security," Putin said.

"I had numerous opportunities to personally speak with this sophisticated, extraordinary man, and I will undoubtedly retain the fondest memory of him," Putin said.

Kissinger died on Wednesday at his house in Connecticut at the age of 100.