YULI VORONTSOV, 78 Russian diplomat

Yuli Vorontsov, who served the Soviet Union and Russia as ambassador to Afghanistan and the United States in a career spanning the Cold War and the Gulf War, died Wednesday in Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said.

He also served as ambassador to the United Nations, France and India, and as the U.N. envoy overseeing the return or repatriation of the remains of Kuwaitis and others missing after the first Gulf War.