Azernews.Az

The assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was aimed at derailing Moscow-Ankara ties, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on December 20, Sputnik International reported.

“This [assassination] is beneficial for those who seek to drive a wedge between Russia and Turkey, hamper the repair of relations between the two sides, both bilateral and relations that allow strengthening and uniting the efforts for the Syrian political settlement…,” he said. “Our investigators have arrived in Ankara.”

Karlov was delivering a speech at the Contemporary Arts Gallery in the Cankaya district when an assailant opened fire on the diplomat before shooting into the air. Police special forces neutralized the attacker, identified as 22-year-old riot police officer Mevlut Mert Altintas.

Following the assassination of the Russian envoy, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke via telephone and both leaders described the act as "provocation" to undermine relations Turkey and Russia carry in Syria.

The attack came just a day before Turkish, Russian and Iranian foreign ministers were due to meet in Moscow to discuss settling the Syrian conflict. The sides decided to press on with the meeting despite the attack with Cavusoglu stressing that the incident would not impact relations between Turkey and Russia.

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