Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Shot Dead at Gallery in Ankara

Russian investigators have arrived in Turkey to help investigate the killing of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov, who was shot dead at a gallery event in Ankara on Monday night.

An unnamed gunman gestures after shooting the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, at a photo gallery in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. “It was determined that the people with whom he graduated from school were from a FETO team”, the senior security official said of the attacker. Some unconfirmed reports however say the attacker has been identified as a personnel of the Turkish police.

Police later killed Altintas in a exchange that lasted 15 minutes. The photographer reported that a man shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired at least eight shots. Don’t forget Syria!’ Altintas fatally shot Karlov in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibit. “Whoever has a share in this oppression will pay for it one-by-one”.

Guests ran for cover, hiding behind columns and under tables.

The attack happened at the Cagdas Sanatlar Merkezi, a major art exhibition hall in the Cankaya district of Ankara where most foreign embassies are located including Russia’s mission.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said: “We are sure that those who staged that barbaric crime 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 assassinators will be punished.

In highly unusual scenes for a Muslim country, a Russian Orthodox priest said prayers and swung incense over the coffin, while a Turkish soldier stood holding a picture of the murdered diplomat and Karlov’s widow Marina wept.

Russian Federation is a close ally of the neighboring Syrian regime’s and is involved in a wide-ranging airstrike campaign in Syria.

Russian Federation will hold a funeral Thursday for Andrey Karlov, the country’s murdered ambassador to Turkey. “It’s their strategic goal, but they won’t reach it”.

Still, Ankara and Moscow have begun a sort of warming of relations in recent months, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flying to St. Petersburg in August to meet personally with Vladimir Putin for talks about bilateral trade and energy projects created to boost both countries’ economies.

“Strong relations will continue, no one has the strength to destroy the relationship” between the two countries, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said during a speech in Istanbul for the opening of a tunnel highway under the Bosporus.

The leaders of Turkey and Russian Federation both emphasized that this assassination was provocative and aimed at hurting their ties.

On Tuesday afternoon, Karlov’s coffin was carried across Esenboga airport’s tarmac, draped in a Russian flag. Prior to his post in Turkey, he served as Russia’s deputy director general for consular affairs.