The significant presence of both Russian and international dignitaries at Boris Yeltsin's funeral was a clear reflection of the high esteem in which he was held, President Emeritus Guido de Marco, who represented Malta at the state funeral, told The Times yesterday.

Speaking on his return from Moscow, Prof. de Marco said he was particularly touched when "Yeltsin's grief-stricken widow, Nania, kissed her husband, for the last time in his coffin, stroking his cheeks and forehead". She later thanked the foreign delegations attending her husband's funeral at a reception hosted by President Vladimir Putin.

The presence of dignitaries at the funeral was overwhelming, Prof. de Marco said, pointing out exchanges he had with former Polish President and human rights activist Lech Walesa, former Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos and former Italian Prime Minister and Senator for Life Gulio Andreotti, among others.

Prof. de Marco's relationship with the former Russian President goes back to a moment which is considered to be a defining chapter for Mr Yeltsin, his defiance of the 1991 August attempted coup by hard-line communists - a year after Prof. de Marco had been elected president of the United Nations General Assembly.

The two had met again in the following years as Foreign Affairs Minister along with then Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami.

Russia's eight years under President Yeltsin were of mixed fortunes, Prof. de Marco recalled, possessing both positive and negative elements. The country had gone through a turbulent and radical transition, which came at a significant social and economic cost.

Nonetheless, Prof. de Marco added, as one looks back on that time, today one can see the value of President Yeltsin's central role in returning Russia to democracy.