MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Karlov was killed by a gunman at an art gallery exhibition opening in Ankara. Three other people were also injured in the attack. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it considers the attack a terrorist act.
"On December 19, 2016, a telephone call between Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim took place at the initiative of Turkey… Medvedev stressed that a murder of an ambassador in a terrorist attack is an extraordinary situation in international relations," the Russian cabinet said in a statement.
Yildirim expressed condolences over the murder, stressing that the ambassador had made a significant contribution to Russian-Turkish relations.
Medvedev called on Yildirim to find and punish the organizers behind the attack, while the Turkish prime minister said investigations had already begun and promised to personally oversee the case.
The attack came just a day before Turkish, Russian and Iranian foreign ministers were due to meet in Moscow to discuss settling the Syrian conflict. The Turkish minister arrived in Moscow and decided to press on with the meeting despite the attack, stressing that the incident will not impact relations between Turkey and Russia.
