Russia's Official Reactions To The Killing Of The Russian Ambassador To Turkey

On December 19, 2016, Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was assassinated at a photography exhibition in Ankara. The attacker was a 22-year-old police officer, who was identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas. The attacker reportedly shouted"Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria! As long as our brothers are not safe, you will not enjoy safety."He then added:"Whoever has a share in this oppression will pay for it one-by-one."

He also recited "Allahu Akbar" before talking in Turkish. The Russian media outlet Sputniknews.com reported that he was not on duty when he made the attack. He was killed after assassinating Karlov.[1]

The Turkish paper Hurriyet reported that the exhibition 'Russia as Seen by the Turks' was announced one week earlier."A private guard does not accompany Karlov in such public occasions,"wrote Hurriyet. The Tukish paper also reported that the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was on a plane to Moscow during the time of the attack, for talks on Syria with his Russian and Iranian counterparts, Sergey Lavrov and Javad Zarif.[2]

Caption:"I don't like when they shoot in the back,"paraphrasing a song by the famous Russian singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky. (Source: Facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167)

Official Russia's Reactions – Senator Pushkov: 'The Death Of Russian Ambassador… Is A Result Of The Political And Media Hysteria'

In a TV statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination of the Russian ambassador a provocation aimed at derailing the Syrian peace negotiations. Putin said: "This crime is obviously a provocation aimed at hampering the normalization of Russia-Turkey relations, as well as at derailing the peace process in Syria, which is actively mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran. The only response to this [crime] could be the strengthening of the fight against terrorism."[3]

Vladimir Putin addressing the nation, after the Ambassador's assassination (Source: Sputniknews.com)

(Source: Hurriyetdailynews.com)

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Putin's words:"We are confident that the main aim of those who plotted this barbaric thing was to undermine the process of normalization of relations between Russia and Turkey in order to prevent effective fight against terrorism in Syria."[4]

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: "We qualify the events as a terrorist attack, we stay in contact with Turkish officials who have pledged that a thorough all-round investigation will be carried out. The assassinators will be punished. Today this issue will be brought up at the UN Security Council. Terrorism shall not pass we will take resolute efforts against it."[5]

(Source: Hurriyetdailynews.com, December 19,2016)

Senator Alexey Pushkov wrote on his Twitter account: "The death of Russian ambassador in a terror attack – is a result of the political and media hysteria, unleashed by Russia's opponents following Aleppo.”[6]

(Source: Twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov, December 19, 2016)

The Chairman of the Russian State Duma's international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, said that the attack won't spoil relations between Moscow and Ankara. "Now, Ankara and Moscow should move faster to solve the problems on the agenda, including tomorrow's meeting," Slutsky added.[7]

Senator Franz Klintsevich stated: "I don't have any doubts that it's the radical Islamists who acted as the killer's puppeteers and it doesn't mean whether they are affiliated with the Islamic State or Jabhat al-Nusra. The goal is clear and it is revenge on our country for Syria combined with an attempt for trigger a head-on collision between Russia and Turkey. Assassination of an ambassador is a blatant, terrible situation that doesn't have precedents in contemporary history." He then stated: "Quite naturally, we have questions to the Turkish side as well, as it failed to ensure security for a foreign diplomat of this high rank. All the more so that this assassination took place after a chain of terrorist acts, and that's why the appropriate Turkish agencies were obliged to take special precautionary steps." He then said: "I don't think there's any need to stress an apparent growth of the terrorist threat because this is clear as daylight."[8]

First deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, Senator Vladimir Dzhabarov, said: "The responsibility for the death of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov is on Turkey which did not ensure security at such an event, knowing that the country is located near the front line."He stressed that it was "clear that after the offensive in Aleppo, such actions were possible from terrorists." "Militants usually resort to primitive terror when they feel powerless," he said. Dzhabarov then added: "I think that after this, security should be stepped up at all Russian diplomatic missions in Turkey and other countries in close proximity to Syria."[9]

Dzhabarov also said: "The attack aimed at driving a wedge in relations between Turkey and Moscow, to cause damage to Russia, to scare Russian citizens. Not a single one of these aims will be achieved."[10]

State Duma International Affairs Committee member Sergey Zheleznyak said: "Unfortunately, Turkish law enforcers were unable to provide security and prevent this high-profile crime. This level of danger should be taken into account by Russian citizens who are staying in Turkey."[11]

Senator Konstantin Kosachev, the Federation Council International Affairs Committee chair: "Turkey is definitely a very important partner for us. Currently we should figure out what has happened. It might be a preplanned terror attack backed by extremists. It might be an action by an insane lone wolf. Following this [clarification] we'll get an idea of how this will influence Russian-Turkish relations."[12]

Federation Council Defense Committee chairman, Senator Viktor Ozerov, said: "Russia and Turkey has succeeded in substantially improving cooperation including on the issue of a political settlement in Syria. As a result Istanbul [sic] supports Moscow's position and takes active measures to stop the smuggling of 'dirty' oil, and in the opposite direction, weapons and mercenaries through the border with Syria. This is very unprofitable for those, who are not interested in an intra-Syrian reconciliation and a further improvement in Russia-Turkey relations."[13]