Karlov was shot in the back by a gunman who screamed, "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!" Photo / AP
Karlov was shot in the back by a gunman who screamed, "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!" Photo / AP
Both Turkish and Russian officials labelled the assassination of Andrey Karlov, Moscow's envoy to Turkey, in Ankara as a "terrorist" attack.
Karlov was shot in the back by a gunman who screamed, "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!"
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attack was "a provocation" that wouldn'thave an impact on the current thaw in relations between Moscow and Ankara, which were plunged into crisis last year as the two countries took differing sides in Syria's civil war.
Russia's intervention on behalf of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad infuriated Turkey and its President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was one of the first world leaders to call for Assad's departure. In the months since, Turkey had to calibrate its position as the Assad regime dug in and Syrian Kurdish factions galvanised support among Turkey's restless Kurdish minority. Turkey has worked with Russia to find a solution for civilians trapped in Aleppo.
That doesn't mean all Turks accept Russia's role in a conflict that rages on their doorstep. Protests were held outside Russian diplomatic buildings in Istanbul and Ankara. At the scene of Karlov's murder, before he himself was killed by Turkish security personnel, the shooter declared his actions were retribution for Russia's role in bombing rebel-held areas of Aleppo.
"No, this is not Sarajevo 1914," tweeted Turkish columnist Mustafa Akyol, referring to the assassination of a Hapsburg royal by a Serbian nationalist that preceded World War I. "For Ankara and Moscow will not wage war. Quite the contrary, they may even get closer." Still, Erdogan faces an awkward geopolitical predicament. Turkey's relations with the West are at a low ebb. He will be compelled to make concessions to Russia after the slaying of its ambassador.
Henri Barkey, of the Woodrow Wilson Institute in Washington, said: "Now, he will find that his hand with the Russians is even weaker than ever. The only thing to be decided is the price Erdogan will have to pay." Senior Turkish officials were scheduled to be in Moscow today for talks with Russian and Iranian counterparts. It's the latest indication that Turkey may be resigned to allowing Assad's allies to shape Syria's future.
