Russia’s new ambassador to Turkey visits Atatürk’s mausoleum

ANKARA

Russia’s new ambassador to Ankara Aleksey V. Erkhov visited Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, on July 28. He paid a silent tribute to the First President of Turkey, according to a written statement from the Russian Embassy.

“Having presented my credentials to His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, I bow my head in ever-lasting memory of the Founding Father of the Republic of Turkey, a great fighter for the independence of his nation, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades-in-arms. I sincerely wish Turkey prosperity, welfare and peace,” Erkhov wrote in the Special Honorary Book of Anıtkabir.

The ambassador presented his letter of credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 27.

Erkhov was the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s crisis management center, before replacing Ambassador Andrey Karlov, who was shot dead in December 2016 by an off-duty Turkish police officer at the opening of an art gallery exhibition.