Zakharova called the deceased former US Secretary of State Colin Powell a patriot

The late former Secretary of State Colin Powell will be remembered as a U.S. patriot who defended the country's interests in the way he felt was right, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a comment.

“The deceased prominent US statesman, military man and politician, <...> Colin Powell will be remembered as a patriot of his country, who defended its interests in the way he considered right,” Zakharova said.

She noted that US citizens pinned their hopes on him for a change for the better and saw in his journey from "the bottom to high military and political positions" the embodiment of the American dream.

At the same time, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry did not forget to mention that Powell was forced to carry out "dubious instructions that led to the war in Iraq" when he was US Secretary of State in 2001-2005. According to her, he sincerely regretted his actions.