I’m really shocked by envoy’s murder, says Turkish top diplomat

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said he expressed shock when he learned of the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov in comments to Russian reporters late on Dec. 19 as he landed in Moscow where he is to meet counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Dec. 20.

“We have been informed about the death of Andrey Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, during a photo exhibition in Ankara. I was really shocked. First of all, we condemn and curse this attack in the strongest terms,” Çavuşoğlu told reporters. 

Both Turkish and Russian authorities and people are aware that the objective of the attack was not only Karlov but also Russia, Turkey and the Turkish-Russian relationship, Çavuşoğlu said, expressing his belief that bilateral ties would not be affected by the attack. 

Recalling that Turkey and Russia were currently expending joint efforts to broker a deal for the evacuation of civilians from Aleppo, Turkey’s top diplomat underlined Ankara’s appreciation of the Russian role in this humanitarian campaign. “We underline this almost in every platform. Thus, this attack is aimed at ruining the cooperation of our countries,” he added. 

“Andrey Karlov was a good diplomat. He exerted great effort in the improvement of bilateral relations even in very difficult conditions especially after the downing of the [Russian] jet,” he said. “He was not only a good diplomat. He was a perfect man and a friend. He was real friend to me. I am so sorry. All of Turkey and the Turkish people are sorry.”

Çavuşoğlu canceled an official trip to Ukraine after the assassination of Karlov.