Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov shot dead in Ankara
Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was shot dead at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Dec. 19, Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed.
Karlov was shot by a gun while making a speech at a photography exhibition in the Turkish capital, the Russian embassy said, adding that it believed that it was a radical Islamist attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova later announced that Karlov succumbed to his wounds.
Turkish Foreign Ministry has also confirmed Karlov’s death, in a written statement, adding that the perpetrators will face justice for their action.
The ministry designated the attack on Karlov as a "terror organization."
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu later announced that the attacker was a 22-year-old police officer identified as Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş.
Soylu said Altıntaş was born on June 24, 1994, in the Söke district of the western province of Aydın.
The minister also added that he had been on duty for two-and-a half years at the riot police unit in Ankara and was graduated from a police vocational school in İzmir.
Soylu said three more people were wounded in the attack, adding that while one of them was discharged from hospital, the other two injured were being treated in the hospital.
Soylu also stated that Altıntaş was 'neutralized' in a special operations police operation at the scene.
Hürriyet Ankara representative Deniz Zeyrek said the attacker first shot into the air and later shot the envoy in the back.
He shot the envoy for the second time after the scene was evacuated. It has also been reported that the attacker entered the scene by showing a police identity and wearing a suit.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Russian President Vladimir Putin and informed him over the attack, CNN Türk reported.
"There will be no fresh cooling in relations between Moscow and Ankara, no matter how strongly our strategic opponents in Ankara and the West want this," said Leonid Slutsky, who heads the international affairs committee of the Russian Duma, according to the BBC.
"This is not going to happen. There are differences between us. It's a horrendous tragedy, but relations between our states will not suffer,” Slutsky said.
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