Ankara: In a shocking incident, Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov was on Monday shot dead by a Turkish policeman crying "Aleppo" and "revenge".
Karlov was shot while making a speech at a painting exhibition in Ankara exhibition hall.
Dramatic television footage showed the attacker, who has been identified as 22-year-old Mevlut Mert Altintas, had worked for Ankara riot police for two and a half years, waving a gun and gesturing in the air. He was dressed in a black suit and tie.
After shooting the Russian envoy, Altintas shouted: "Don`t forget Aleppo, don`t forget Syria!"
The attack comes a day before Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu heads to Moscow for talks on Syria with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.
World condemns attack
Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan, in a video message to the nation, cast the attack as an attempt to undermine NATO-member Turkey`s relations with Russia - ties long tested by the war in Syria. He said he had agreed in a telephone call with Russia`s Vladimir Putin to step up cooperation in fighting terrorism.
Putin said the killing of the Russian Ambassador to Ankara is designed to spoil the Russia-Turkey ties.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey, calling it as a "senseless" act of terror.
The US also condemned the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey. US National Security Council Spokesperson Ned Price said: "This heinous attack on a member of the diplomatic corps is unacceptable, and we stand united with Russia and Turkey in our determination to confront terrorism in all of its forms."
