Assassination in Ankara: Cop guns down Russian ambassador

Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was assassinated Monday night during the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition in Ankara when he took to the podium to make a speech.

Turkey’s interior minister said the gunman, 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, who was killed, was part of Ankara’s anti-riot police.
The assailant was on duty as a security officer during rallies by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s mainstream HaberTurk news reported.

After shooting the ambassador, the gunman shouted: “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. Until our towns are safe, you won’t be able to enjoy safety. Whoever has a role in this cruelty will pay for it one by one.”

…

Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish MP and now senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, said Moscow gained concessions from Ankara following the downing of the warplane before going forward with normalization.

“Putin could again leverage the attack to gain further concessions from Turkey,” Erdemir told Arab News.

“Turkish government officials argue that the attack targeted Turkish-Russian cooperation, and point the finger at the West. The assassination could bolster conspiracy theories at home and speed Turkey’s pivot toward Russia.”

…

Read the full article here.