Russian experts arrive in Ankara to investigate murder of ambassadorDecember 20, 2016 - 16:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A team of Russian investigators arrived in Ankara on Tuesday, December 20 to uncover how an off-duty policeman assassinated Moscow's ambassador in an art gallery, as Turkey made its first arrests over the murder, AFP reports. Veteran diplomat Andrei Karlov was shot four times in the back by Turkish policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, in a brazen attack as he opened an exhibition of Russian photography on Monday. The killing stunned Ankara and Moscow, which have rowed repeatedly over the Syria conflict but in recent weeks have begun cooperating closely on the evacuations from war-wrecked Aleppo. An unprecedented three-way meeting on Syria between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Russia and Iran in Moscow was going ahead Tuesday despite the assassination. Adding to the jitters in a country already on high alert after a string of deadly attacks, an individual also fired outside the US embassy in Ankara overnight in a separate incident. "We have to know who directed the hand of the killer," Russian President Vladimir Putin declared, and agreed with Turkish opposite number Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an unprecedented move to send a Russian investigative team to the scene. Welcoming Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu at the start of the Syria talks in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed the team had arrived in Ankara. "This tragedy forces all of us to fight more decisively against terrorism," Lavrov told Cavusoglu. Dramatic images showed Karlov stumble and then crash to the ground on his back as Altintas brandished his gun at terrified onlookers who cowered behind cocktail tables at the Ankara gallery. The gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest") and said all those responsible for what has happened in Syria and Aleppo would be held accountable. Altintas had set off the metal detector security check when he entered the exhibition in central Ankara as he was carrying a gun, the pro-government Sabah daily said. But after showing his police ID, he was waved through. The Hurriyet daily said Altintas, who had worked for Ankara's anti-riot police for the last two-and-a-half years, had stayed at a nearby hotel to prepare for the attack, shaving and putting on a smart suit. He was killed by police after a 15-minute standoff. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |