Turkey, Russia vow to cooperate in wake of assassination of envoy

The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey are vowing to continue to cooperate after a Turkish policeman shot and killed Russia’s ambassador to Ankara yesterday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey and Russia will work together to determine who was behind the “heinous terror attack” against Andrey Karlov, who was killed in front of a stunned audience while making remarks at a photo exhibition in Ankara.

They attending a previously scheduled meeting in Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was hosting Cavusoglu as well as the foreign minister of Iran for a meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis. Top Turkish, Russian and Iranian defense officials were also meeting. Russia and Iran have backed the government of Bashar Assad, while Turkey has supported rebels fighting Assad.

“Turkey and Russia have shown the world what they can achieve when they cooperate,” Cavusoglu said in at the start of the meeting with Lavrov. He was referring to a Turkish- and Russian-brokered peace deal that paved the way for the evacuation of thousands of people from the east of embattled Aleppo.

The presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed that the killing of the Russian ambassador “makes us more decisive in fighting terrorism and makes today’s meeting even more important,” Lavrov said.

Both foreign ministers lay flowers in front of a photograph of the ambassador at the Russian Foreign Ministry mansion where talks were taking place. Cavusoglu said a street where the Russian Embassy in Ankara is located would be renamed for Karlov.

— AP