Foreign Ministry warns Russians to exercise caution about travelling to Turkey

Any Russian travelling to Turkey “should think [carefully before doing so], because there are terrorist attacks [taking place there] almost daily,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov during a press conference on the riskiness of travelling to Turkey after the murder of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov.

According to Syromolotov, “if before any terrorist attack was a tragedy, which entailed months of preparations, now several terrorist attacks can happen in a day and it becomes commonplace.”

“That is the worst thing,” said the deputy minister.

• On December 19, Andrei Karlov’s, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey was killed in Ankara by twenty-two-year-old policeman Mevlut Altyntash. The attacker was killed by police.
• Immediately after the ambassador’s murder, Russia’s federal tourism agency recommended that Russians in Turkey not to leave their places of residence unless absolutely necessary and avoid crowded places.
• Russian Foreign Ministry called the assassination a terrorist attack. Russia’s Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal investigation on the ambassador’s murder.