Putin condoles death of Lee Kuan Yew

Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent his condolences to Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam over the death of the founding father of modern Singapore and its first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, Tass news agency reported.

Lee Kuan Yew, who is credited with transforming Singapore into an economic and financial powerhouse, died early on Monday at the age of 91.

The Russian president praised Singapore's achievements in the social, economic, scientific and technical fields under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, an outstanding politician in modern history, the Kremlin press office said.

"Over the decades of his work in the post of the prime minister and other posts, he won the sincere love and respect of his compatriots, and also the highest international respect," Putin said in his message.

Lee Kuan Yew will be remembered in Russia as a consistent advocate of the development of friendly relations between the two countries who made a considerable personal contribution to strengthening mutually advantageous bilateral cooperation, Putin said.