Russian Ambassador to Turkey shot dead in art exhibition in Ankara by a gunman:Watch Video
Horror as Russian ambassador to Turkey is shot dead in art exhibition in Ankara by well-dressed gunman screaming: 'Allahu Akbar... We die in Aleppo, you die here'
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The Russian ambassador to Turkey was tonight shot dead by a Turkish police officer at an art gallery in Ankara.
Ambassador Andrei Karlov, 62, was repeatedly shot in the back at close range by a gunman shouting: ‘Allahu Akbar (God is Great). We die in Aleppo, you die here!’
The shooter then yelled: ‘Stand back! Stand back! Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one.’
Gunman Mevlüt Mert Altintas, 22, an off-duty member of the Ankara special forces police department, fired into the air before taking aim at the ambassador.
The killer was shot dead after a 15-minute standoff with police.
A video of the horrific attack shows Altintas, dressed in a suit and tie, pacing the gallery while brandishing a gun in one hand.
Meanwhile the US Security Department reported an ‘ongoing security incident’ outside the US Embassy in Ankara, near to the gallery where Mr Karlov was shot.
The fatal attack follows days of protests in Turkey over Russia’s role in Syria.
Russia officially condemned the shooting as a ‘terrorist act’ as a top Putin ally said it was ‘highly likely’ that it had been planned by the ‘secret services of a Nato country’.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson branded the attack ‘cowardly’ and ‘despicable’.
In a statement tonight, the US State Department condemned the ‘act of violence’, adding: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.’
Mr Karlov was shot as he delivered a speech at the opening of an exhibition at the Ankara Center for Contemporary Art, close to the Russian embassy.
Altinas shouted in Turkish: ‘Don’t forget Aleppo! Don’t forget Syria!’
Before screaming: ‘Stand back! Stand back! Only death will take me out of here. Anyone who has a role in this oppression will die one by one.’
The horrific scene was caught on camera by journalists at the gallery to cover the event. Footage shows the gunman, dressed in a suit and tie, pacing the gallery while brandishing a gun in one hand and waving the other in the air.
It is believed he used his police ID to bypass security staff at the exhibition.
One pro-Kremlin news website reported that Mr Karlov was shot 11 times. He was taken to hospital but later confirmed dead.
Turkey’s Anadolu Agency has said the gunman has been ‘neutralised’. Reports suggest he was killed by police on site.
President Vladimir Putin had been due to see a play at the Maly Theatre in Moscow, but pulled out after learning of Mr Karlov’s death.
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said ‘terrorism will not win’.
Maria Zakharova said: ‘We characterise what happened as an act of terrorism. We stay in touch with Turkish officials who assured that the most thorough comprehensive investigation. The murderers will be punished.
‘Today the same issue will be raised before UN Security Council. Terrorism will not pass. We will be fighting it strongly.
‘The memory of an outstanding Russian diplomat, a man who did a lot to fight terrorism – Andrei Gennadyevich Karlov – will stay in our hearts forever.’
The shooting comes just 24 hours before the Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is due in Moscow for talks with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.
Moscow and Ankara are now working closely together to evacuate citizens from Aleppo but the Russian bombing of the city and the civilian casualties have enraged many Turks and also Syrian refugees in the country.
Last weeks protests were held outside the Russian Embassy in Ankara and Russia’s Consulate General in Istanbul over Russian involvement in the crisis.
Demonstrators chanted slogans against Russia, Iran and China for deliberately supporting the Assad regime.
They claimed that Russian forces cooperated with Assad to slaughter civilians in war-stricken Aleppo and using chemical weapons.
Semen Bagdasarov, expert on Central Asia and Middle East affairs, told pro-Kremlin Life.ru that the assassination is not likely to affect relations between Russia and Turkey.
He said: ‘It has nothing to do with the activities of the Turkish leadership . What has happened is most likely to be the action of a sole radical-Islamist or a member of the groups liked to those in Aleppo.
‘But people who organize trips of Russian people to Turkey must make right conclusions. Charter flights must be stopped, the country is occupied by terror.’
Tonight Russian ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky appeared to blame Britain, claiming the assassination was intended to stop an upcoming visit by Turkish president Erdogan to Moscow to seal closer ties with Putin.
He said: ‘The West is trying to embroil us. All conflicts were inspired by Britain.
He alleged: ‘This is done deliberately to frustrate Erdogan’s visit. For sure, now, the visit will be postponed.’ The assassination ‘was done for purpose, because we are ready to sign important agreements’, he added.
Meanwhile Kremlin senator Frantz Klintsevich, deputy chairman of the Russian upper chamber’s defence and security committee, said: ‘It was a planned action.
‘Everyone knew that he was going to attend this photo exhibition. It can be ISIS, or the Kurdish army which tries to hurt Erdogan. But may be – and it is highly likely – that representatives of foreign NATO secrets services are behind it.
‘What has happened is a true provocation, a challenge. It is a challenge for Russia.’
Strongman leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said: ‘This is the cowardly murder, for which all directly or indirectly involved should be severely punished.
‘The incident once again shows convincingly that the whole world must fight terrorism, all countries and security services.
‘Otherwise, the plague will spread across the globe.’
Speaking to the Anadolu news agency last month, Mr Karlov had heralded improving relations between Turkey and Russia since Turkish warplanes have shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria in 2015.
Mr Karlov said: ‘I would be happy if next year, Turkey was visited by 4.5 million Russian tourists, as it was before, but it will be difficult to do. I hope that next year will visit Turkey several million Russians.
‘The Russian side has done everything to avoid obstacles to cooperation in the field of tourism, we lifted the ban on flights chartered flights. Now, much will depend on the Turkish side.’
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