# 19 Dec 2016:  Russian Ambassador to Turkey killed in Ankara



## JulesP (19 Dec 2016)

If Turkey-Russian relations were not already bad, things may have gotten worse...

From CTV News: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/gunman-kills-russian-ambassador-to-turkey-1.3209355?autoPlay=true



> ANKARA, Turkey -- A gunman in a suit and tie shouted slogans about Syria's civil war after he killed Russia's ambassador to Turkey in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital on Monday, according to an Associated Press photographer who witnessed the shooting. Police later killed the assailant, Turkish station NTV reported.
> Ambassador Andrei Karlov, 62, was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition in Ankara when a man fired at least eight shots, according to the AP photographer in the audience.
> 
> "Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria!" the gunman shouted in Turkish, referring to the Syrian city where Russian bombardments have helped drive rebels from areas they had occupied for years during the war.
> ...



Other news sources cite a quote from the mayor of Ankara indicating the gunman was a 22 year old police officer. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/19/turkish-police-officer-shot-dead-russian-ambassador-andrey-karlov/

_- mod edit to add date to thread subject line -_


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## AbdullahD (19 Dec 2016)

I think this may draw Turkey and Russia closer together. Daesh or another extremist group is likely behind it and they will maybe use it as an excuse to up or start the campaign in Syria


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## Colin Parkinson (19 Dec 2016)

Russia is going to want a very good explanation how and why this guy was allowed to get that close and why he was not properly vetted. If they find Ankara dropped the ball, they will extract a pound of flesh. If the Turks can show that there was no inkling that he was going to do it, then it will be a point where they can work together. Russian tourism to the region is going to dry up again. Part of the Turkish problem is that they have courted the Islamist's, but as always they bite the hands that feed them.


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## PPCLI Guy (19 Dec 2016)

AbdullahD said:
			
		

> I think this may draw Turkey and Russia closer together. Daesh or another extremist group is likely behind it and they will maybe use it as an excuse to up or start the campaign in Syria



Ummm....Turkey and Russia both have troops fighting in Syria already - just not against each other.....yet.


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## The Bread Guy (19 Dec 2016)

Well, that didn't take long (source) ...


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## The Bread Guy (19 Dec 2016)

PPCLI Guy said:
			
		

> Ummm....Turkey and Russia both have troops fighting in Syria already - just not against each other.....yet.


Aaaaaaaaaaaand speaking of Syria, this from Russian-state media:


> In a televised statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the assassination of the Russian ambassador in Ankara a clear provocation aimed at derailing the Syrian peace negotiations.
> 
> "This crime is obviously a provocation aimed at hampering the normalization of Russia-Turkey relations, as well as at derailing the peace process in Syria, which is actively mediated by Russia, Turkey and Iran," Putin said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and heads of Russian security bodies in the Kremlin. "The only response to this [crime] could be the strengthening of the fight against terrorism," Putin stressed.
> 
> ...


The usual reminder about breaking news caveats attached.


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## The Bread Guy (19 Dec 2016)

Some Turkish reaction in Turkish media here and here - highlights mine ....


> The shooting dead of Moscow’s ambassador in Ankara is a provocation designed to destroy Turkish-Russian normalization, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Anadolu Agency late on Monday.
> 
> Erdogan "strongly" and "vehemently" condemned the assassination of Andrey Karlov on Monday evening.
> 
> ...





> Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Monday the attack that killed Russia’s envoy to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, would not harm Turkish and Russian relations.
> 
> "It is known how important the relations with Russia are for the region and not only for two countries," Cavusoglu said.
> 
> ...


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## Kat Stevens (19 Dec 2016)

AbdullahD said:
			
		

> I think this may draw Turkey and Russia closer together. Daesh or another extremist group is likely behind it and they will maybe use it as an excuse to up or start the campaign in Syria




Turkey and Russia will both blame the Kurds and use it as an excuse to wipe them out.


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## The Bread Guy (19 Dec 2016)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> Turkey and Russia will both blame the Kurds and use it as an excuse to wipe them out.


Oooooh, that _would_ be handy ...


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## Good2Golf (20 Dec 2016)

RIP Ambassador Karlov.

Interesting the Turkish proffered Gulen nexus; some Turkish sources noted the involvement of Altintas with FETO (Gulen-supported group in Turkey) and yet Turkish security officials allowed what would otherwise be a compromised special police force officer, and off-duty at that, to be what appears to me to be [a key] part of the Ambassador's close protection detail.  

That is the most inconsistent demonstration of "off-duty" I've ever seen...  :Tin-Foil-Hat:


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## The Bread Guy (20 Dec 2016)

A few of the latest headlines ...

_*"Turkish police detain six after Russian ambassador shot dead"*_ (Reuters)
_*"US, Iran shut down missions in Turkey after firearm incident, Russian envoy killing"*_ (Reuters, via telegraphindia.com)
_*"Russian ambassador killing: Investigators sent to Turkey by Moscow"*_ (BBC)
_*"Russia Sends 18 Investigators, Officials to Probe Ambassador's Murder in Turkey"*_ (RIA Novosti)
_*"Putin, Erdogan Vow to Step Up Terror Fight on Envoy’s Death"*_ (Bloomberg)
_*"Russian, Turkish Foreign Ministers To Meet Following Russian Ambassador's Killing "*_ (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
_*"US ambassador to Moscow offers condolences over Russian diplomat’s murder"*_ (TASS)
_*"Isis supporters threaten '2017 will be a year of massacre' in wake of Berlin and Ankara attacks"*_ (Int'l Business Times)

And Canada's statement, via the Global Affairs info-machine:


> “Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms the assassination of Russia’s Ambassador Andrey Karlov.
> 
> “On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my most sincere condolences to Ambassador Karlov’s family and friends and to the people of Russia.”


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## Colin Parkinson (20 Dec 2016)

I suspect there are going to be a few openings and promotions in Turkish security as head roll and sacrificial goats are required.


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## AbdullahD (20 Dec 2016)

Mufti Abu Layth said:
			
		

> #MurderIsNotSpeltMartyr
> 
> An officer in Turkey shot dead the Russain Ambassador...in an attempt to somehow retaliate for the Tragedy of Aleppo...yelling 'Allahu Akbar' during this horrific act!
> 
> ...



Just dropping this to show the Muslim community is disgusted with this too.

Very saddening actions these last few days, may god however we call him help all the families.


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## Oldgateboatdriver (20 Dec 2016)

Abdullah:

I accept that Mufti Abu Layth shows that a large portion of the Muslim community is disgusted and even saddened by the murder of the Russian ambassador and rejects both the act and any similar actions by others. I think he is a little over the top, however, when he calls this an act of war and that it could lead to World War III.


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## AbdullahD (20 Dec 2016)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> Abdullah:
> 
> I accept that Mufti Abu Layth shows that a large portion of the Muslim community is disgusted and even saddened by the murder of the Russian ambassador and rejects both the act and any similar actions by others. I think he is a little over the top, however, when he calls this an act of war and that it could lead to World War III.



I agree, I think it is more of an non issue then he suggests. Posted for the denouncing.


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## The Bread Guy (21 Dec 2016)

Well, THAT didn't take long ...


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## The Bread Guy (21 Dec 2016)

And the link is made ...


> Turkey’s President Tayyip Recep Erdogan said on Wednesday the investigators had uncovered a link between the killer of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov and FETO, an organization associated with the exiled Islamist preacher Fethullah Gulen.
> 
> "This man (Mevlut Mert Altintas) was a member of FETO and there’s no need to cover up this fact," Erdogan said. "The place where he grew up and his latest status are all but indicative of this."
> 
> "It should be said openly that members of that filthy organization can still be found in the ranks of our police and in the Armed Forces," he said ...


More on FETO (the group representing what Turkey says is the terrorist arm of the Gulenist movement) via a Turkish think tank here.


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## jollyjacktar (21 Dec 2016)

Fucking Extremist Terrorist Organization...?


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