MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/: Moscow will do the best it can to pass on the experience of prominent Soviet diplomat Oleg Troyanovsky to younger generations and carry on the traditions started by him, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a commentary on Sunday in connection with Troyanovsky’s 100th birth anniversary.
According to Russia’s top diplomat, Troyanovsky was famous for his erudition, diplomatic intuition and the ability to find brilliant ways out of any situations, even the most difficult ones. "He began his diplomatic career in London, worked hard during the talks at the end of World War II, when the fate of specific issues related to the completion of that tragedy, the coordination of parameters of post-war world order was being determined," he recalled.
"He was also known for his sense of humor," Lavrov noted. "Once, during a General Assembly session - at that time relations between the USSR and China were not at their best - Troyanovsky, together with his American counterpart, US Permanent Representative to the UN, were drenched in red paint by radical representatives of some Chinese non-governmental organizations, which operated in New York at that time, after the end of the consultations while leaving the meeting room. Troyanovsky then uttered a phrase that later on became, as we call it now, a "meme" in UN circles, ‘Better red than dead."
Lavrov noted that the resourcefulness, which was displayed during that incident, distinguished Troyanovsky in both minor and serious matters. "We will always remember Troyanovsky. We will do the best we can to pass on his experience to younger generations and continue these traditions," he concluded.
