Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on June 17 sent a message of condolences to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier over the death of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

The message, in particular, says, “Your Excellency, we were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Helmut Kohl.  He was one of the greatest statesmen in his time and played a great role in reuniting East and West Germany after the Berlin Wall fell and establishing the European Union.”

On behalf of the Government of Tajikistan, President Rahmon extended condolences to the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Germany.

German statesman Helmut Kohl, the architect of German reunification after the end of the Cold War, died on June 16.  He was 87.

Helmut Kohl served as chancellor for 16 years -- from 1982 to 1998 -- and was Germany's longest-serving leader since 1945.  He worked tirelessly for the reunification of West and East Germany, the countries separated in the ashes of World War II.

World leaders paid tribute to former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, expressing sadness at the passing of the leader credited with reunifying Germany.  

“One of the greatest leaders in post-war Europe,” was George H W Bush's tribute to former German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, according to BBC. 

Many tributes focus on his role as the architect of German reunification after the Cold War and his role in bringing about the euro currency.

Speaking in Rome, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the announcement of Kohl's death was “one of those pieces of news that makes us all fall still because we feel that the life that has ended is going into history.”  Kohl was trusted “from Washington to Moscow, from Paris to Warsaw” she said, and was “the right man at the right time", who "held tight to the dream of a reunited Germany and a unified Europe, even as others gave it up.”

Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev said Helmut Kohl was an “outstanding" leader who had "warned the West against disregarding Russia's interests.”