Ambassador's Murder a 'Trap' for Russian-Turkish Relations: Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Moscow and Ankara have not fallen into the trap set by the organizers of the murder of Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov in Turkey's capital, as the friendship between the two countries could not be undermined, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in an interview with RIA Novosti on the 5th anniversary of the Russian diplomat's death.

“Five years have passed since the treacherous murder of Ambassador Andrey Karlov. The attack on Ambassador Karlov was an attack on Turkish-Russian friendship. However, Turkey and Russia did not fall into this trap. Therefore, those who wanted to damage Turkish-Russian friendship are disappointed,” the Turkish minister remarked.

He added that the attack on Karlov was an act of terrorism. Karlov was assassinated on December 19, 2016, during the opening of a photographic exhibition titled “Russia through the Eyes of a Traveler from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka” in Ankara. The assailant, police officer Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, was neutralized by security forces.

Charges of organizing the murder of the Russian ambassador have been brought against 28 suspects, including Fethullah Gülen, a religious leader residing in the United States, who has denied the allegations. In March, an Ankara court issued a verdict in the case of Karlov's murder. Five of the defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while eight others received prison sentences ranging from three years and nine months to 15 years, with six others being acquitted. The cases of another nine suspects, including Gülen, have been separated into different proceedings at the request of the prosecution.