The unprecedented killing of Andrei Karlov became the most discussed topic in the media today. On Monday evening, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, has been shot dead by a police officer in an art gallery in Ankara. The killer was a police officer, he shouted ‘Don’t forget Aleppo!’ prior to pulling the trigger.
Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, was attacked at the opening of an art exhibition in Ankara by a man believed to be an off-duty Turkish police officer. Mr Karlov was several minutes into a speech when he was shot.
It is noteworthy that a footage of the attack showed a young man dressed in a suit and tie who is standing absolutely passionlessly behind the Russian ambassador. The man then pulled out a gun, shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and fired a full gun clip, eight shots, at least.
The words of the killer after he shot Andrei Karlov, were in Turkish, the man shouted:
‘Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. Unless our towns are secure, you won’t enjoy security. Only death can take me from here. Everyone who is involved in this suffering will pay a price.’
Then killer shouted in Arabic:
‘We are the one who pledged allegiance to Muhammad, to wage jihad.’
The attacker was killed by Turkish special forces after they surrounded the gallery. Three other people were wounded.
Vladimir Putin about the killing of Russian ambassador to Turkey
Vladimir Putin called the killing a ‘provocation’ aimed at sabotaging a rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara and attempts to resolve the conflict in Syria. The Russian president said:
“The crime that was committed is without doubt a provocation aimed at disrupting the normalisation of Russian-Turkish relations and disrupting the peace process in Syria that is being actively advanced by Russia, Turkey and Iran.”
Putin added:
“There can be only one answer to this – stepping up the fight against terrorism, and the bandits will feel this.”
Putin explained that Russian officials would be dispatched to Ankara to investigate the killing, according to the Russian leader, ‘We have to know who directed the hand of the killer’.
Russia gathers a meeting with Turkey and Iran to discuss Syria
Vladimir Putin’s comments were echoed by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov who said, following a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusgolu, that those behind the shooting “were seeking to derail the process of normalising Russia-Turkey ties primarily with a goal to prevent an efficient fight against terrorism in Syria.”
The Foreign minister Lavrov will meet with his counterparts of Iran and Turkey later on Tuesday to discuss Syria.
