Russia's ambassador to Turkey was killed in Ankara

[Balu]

Rip

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The Russian ambassador to Ankara has been killed in a gun attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital, Russia’s foreign ministry confirmed. Reports suggested the gunman was a Turkish riot police officer.
Andrei Karlov was attending the opening of an exhibit at a contemporary arts centre when he was attacked on Monday evening. He was several minutes into a speech at the exhibit when a man shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired at least eight shots, video of the attack showed.
After firing at the ambassador, the man, dressed in a suit and tie, shouted in Turkish: “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria. Unless our towns are secure, you won’t enjoy security. Only death can take me from here. Everyone who is involved in this suffering will pay a price.”
He also shouted in Arabic: “We are the one who pledged allegiance to Muhammad, to wage jihad.”

RIA Novosti reported that Karlov died at the scene, which was later confirmed by the Russian foreign ministry.
Local media, citing security guards at the scene, said the killer showed a police ID to enter the gallery. The pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper claimed he was in the Ankara riot police. In video, he could be seen standing calmly behind Karlov before pulling out a pistol and opening fire.
<figure class="element element-image img--landscape fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares " id="img-1" itemprop="associatedMedia image" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" itemscope="" data-component="image" data-media-id="8f87a451e7fba8c52d22e83853a2e4f584420611"><met a content="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8f87a451e7fba8c52d22e83853a2e4f584420611/0_174_5547_3329/5547.jpg?w=700&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&" itemprop="url"> <meta content="5547" itemprop="width"> <meta content="3329" itemprop="height"> <source media="(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"> <source media="(min-width: 660px)"> <source media="(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"> <source media="(min-width: 480px)"> <source media="(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)"> <source media="(min-width: 0px)"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" class="reveal-caption-icon__svg centered-icon__svg rounded-icon__svg inline-information__svg inline-icon__svg" viewBox="0 0 6 14" width="6" height="14">
</path> </svg> The gunman gestures after shooting Karlov. Photograph: Burhan Ozbilici/AP
</figure>Turkish special forces surrounded the gallery and killed the attacker, according to reports.

The Russian foreign ministry said it was in contact with Ankara over the events, and had received assurances that those responsible would be punished. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, called an urgent meeting with his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and the heads of the security services.
Karlov had been part of discussions between Russia and Turkey that led to an evacuation of east Aleppo getting under way late last week. He had also been a central conduit to the Turkish government’s rapprochement with Moscow in April.

<figure class="element element-interactive interactive" data-alt="Locator map for shooting" data-canonical-url="https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2016/12/turkey_shooting/giv-3902Nh9xf142476p/" data-interactive="https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/iframe-wrapper/0.1/boot.js"> </figure>The killing throws into doubt the deal behind the ongoing evacuation of civilians in besieged east Aleppo, an agreement that was brokered by Turkey and Russia.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations said Moscow was the main reason the deal did not fall apart over the weekend despite the objections of Iranian and jihadi interlocutors. It is likely Moscow saw the survival of the deal as necessary to shore up its claims to great power status.

In recent days, protests in Istanbul against Russian involvement in Syria, including in front of the Russian consulate on the city’s famed İstiklal Avenue, have occurred on a regular basis. The protests have often had a significant Islamist contingent.

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, was due to travel to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with his Russian and Iranian counterparts.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...hooting-attack

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Russia and Turkey have recently gone some way towards mending their relations , which went into a freeze after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane in November 2015. </figure>Fatih Öke, a former press attache in Turkey’s embassy in Washington DC, tweeted: “The bullet to Ambassador Karlov is not only aims him. It aims also Turkish-Russian relation.”
US state department spokesman John Kirby said: “We condemn this act of violence, whatever its source. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
Karlov was a career diplomat who had previously served as ambassador to North Korea.
Additional reporting by Ceren Kenar

[jimnyc]

Dang, I just copied and was about to post this, you beat me to it!! Think this will cause a few problems? Yikes!

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Russian Ambassador Assassinated

The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, has been shot while speaking at an art exhibit in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
Hurriyet Daily News reports three other people were injured in the attack, the shooter may still be in the building at the time of this report, and Karlov has not yet been taken to the hospital for treatment.

Hurriyet quotes the Russian embassy saying it believes “radical Islamists” were behind the attack, and notes that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is due in Moscow tomorrow for talks on the Syrian crisis with Russia and Iran.

Rest here - http://www.breitbart.com/national-se...speech-ankara/

[Balu]

Dang, I just copied and was about to post this, you beat me to it!! Think this will cause a few problems? Yikes!

Not only soldiers are killed during the war.
To learn who organized this murder is not very difficult. The clue is - who is the beneficiary, who feel himself offended realizing that the conflicts may be calm down in no his way and without his participation.
Tomorrow there will be a summit of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Ministers of Defense of Russia, Iran and Turkey in Moscow. No doubt that the atmosphere of these talks will be not the most favorable and it may complicate to achieve the most possible results.

[NightTrain]

I predict a whole lot of terrorists are about to exit this world. Putin doesn't screw around and he's going to make an example.

[jimnyc]

I predict a whole lot of terrorists are about to exit this world. Putin doesn't screw around and he's going to make an example.

Yup, I expect some MOAB's to soon be dropped, at least their version. Folks in Syria better get to their bomb shelters!! I hope the GoPro's are running, we're soon going to see some sweet fireworks and shock and awe.

[pete311]

I predict a whole lot of terrorists are about to exit this world. Putin doesn't screw around and he's going to make an example.

Like how they won in afganistan right?

[NightTrain]

Like how they won in afganistan right?

Jesus, you're dumb.

Back to your corner and nurse that thumb, moonbat.

[jimnyc]

Like how they won in afganistan right?

I didn't follow things back then as I do today. Who was the Russian leader back then? Was it still Putin? If not, the response comparison, well there isn't one.

[Black Diamond]

I didn't follow things back then as I do today. Who was the Russian leader back then? Was it still Putin? If not, the response comparison, well there isn't one.

Brezhnev invaded Afghanistan.

[Kathianne]

Yup, I expect some MOAB's to soon be dropped, at least their version. Folks in Syria better get to their bomb shelters!! I hope the GoPro's are running, we're soon going to see some sweet fireworks and shock and awe.

More likely the Kurds will take the brunt of this. He yelled out "Allah Akbar" and spoke in Russian. I'm thinking more likely to have been a Chechen.

[Kathianne]

Looks like I was wrong, it appears to have been a Turkish policeman:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner...content=french

Russian Ambassador Gunned Down in Turkey — Shooter Shouts ‘Allahu Akhbar’
by DAVID FRENCH December 19, 2016 1:41 PM @DAVIDAFRENCH The world just got more dangerous. A gunman shot and killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey and then stood over his body, shouted “Allahu Akhbar” and began ranting about Syria and Aleppo. I won’t embed video of the shooting, but you can see the entire thing here. Warning, the footage is extremely disturbing.

Early reports are often wrong, but it appears the shooter was a Turkish police officer:

Ali Hashem علي هاشم ✔ @alihashem_tv According to reports the assasin of the Russian ambassador is indeed a security personnel and his name is Mert Altintas 10:40 AM - 19 Dec 2016


We can’t forget that this incident comes just a little more than a year after Turkish forces shot down a Russian jet, and it comes after Erodgan has comprehensively purged Turkish security forces to allegedly leave only his loyalists on staff.

It would be foolish to spend too much time speculating about the immediate and short-term consequences, but it is simply a fact that this is a grave breach of Turkey’s responsibilities to Russia (at the very least), and if there was any official Turkish involvement in the shooting beyond the shooter’s own initiative, then the breach grows graver still.

Turkey and Russia have a long history of armed conflict, fighting multiple major wars before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and there is little trust or love between these two nations. Complicating matters immensely, Turkey is a NATO ally — an ally whose leader has been steadily shedding the nation’s secular identity for more than a decade. It’s little wonder that a member of his security services may well have been radicalized.

All eyes now shift to Russia. After the Turkey shot down the Russian jet, he imposed punitive sanctions and ultimately extracted a groveling apology from Erdogan. This situation is potentially far more serious. Expect Putin to react accordingly.

[pete311]

Jesus, you're dumb.

Back to your corner and nurse that thumb, moonbat.

And then you insult me via reputation... Someone here called me a coward for that.

[NightTrain]

And then you insult me via reputation... Someone here called me a coward for that.

Nothing I wouldn't say to your face. Idiot.

IMO, you don't deserve to have positive rep - that indicates that you have something useful to say. I'm fixing that.

[Elessar]

And then you insult me via reputation... Someone here called me a coward for that.

You insult all the time.

Can't take it? Don't dish it.

Mental problems my ass....

[pete311]

tweedledee and tweedledum respond, hilarious stuff