Press. voanews.com
A gunman
believed to be an off-duty policeman shot and killed Russia's ambassador to
Turkey Monday night in Ankara. Ambassador Andrey Karlov was making a speech at
the opening of an art exhibition when a man dressed in a suit approached the
podium and opened fire.
The
entire scene was captured on video. The assassin yelled "Allahu
Akbar" and vowed to avenge what he said are Russian murders of innocent
people in Syria. He pointed his pistol at the ceiling and briefly at the
audience while the mortally wounded ambassador lay on the floor.
Three
other people were wounded before security officers shot the gunman dead.
Ambassador Karlov died at a hospital. He has been Russia's ambassador to Turkey
since 2013. Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek identified the assassin as a 22-year-old
police officer, Mevlut Mert Altintas. Russian President Vladimir Putin
condemned the killing as an act of terrorism.
"There
is no doubt that the committed crime is a provocation aimed at ruining
Russian-Turkish relations and the peace process in Syria which is moving
forward with the help of Russia, Turkey, and Iran," Putin said. "The
answer is to strengthen the counter-terrorism efforts and the criminals will
feel that soon."
Putin is
demanding to know "who directed the killer's hand," and is asking
Turkey to step up security at Russian diplomat posts. "This heinous attack
on a member of the diplomatic corps is unacceptable and we stand united with
Russia and Turkey in our determination to confront terrorism in all of its
forms."
Secretary
of State John Kerry called it a "despicable attack," and U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is "appalled by this senseless act
of terror." Ban said there can be no justification for targeting
diplomatic personnel and civilians. President-elect
Donald Trump called the murder of an ambassador "a violation of all rules
of civilized order." He called the gunman a "radical Islamic
terrorist," but Turkish officials have not provided such information.
A Gulen
spokesman denied the cleric had anything to do with the assassination and told
Reuters Gulen "categorically denies this heinous act." Ties between
Russia Turkey have been slowly improving since Turkish jets shot down a Russian
bomber that strayed into its airspace from Syria last year. Russian and Turkish
officials have been working together to resolve the refugee crisis in Aleppo,
caused, in part, by Russian airstrikes on Syrian rebels.
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