Murder in Ankara

An interdepartmental working group from Moscow is sent to Ankara to investigate the circumstances of the murder of the Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov . The crime was committed the night before. A 22-year-old man dressed in a black suit and tie with a certificate of a Turkish police officer penetrated the photo exhibition "Russia through the eyes of a traveler" (according to other sources, "Russia through the eyes of the Turks") in the gallery of contemporary art in Ankara and shot a diplomat in the back when he performed with a welcoming speech. During the attack, three more people were injured. The criminal was shot dead by the police.

The person who attacked the ambassador shouted in Turkish and Arabic: “We - those who promised the Prophet Muhammad to start jihad. This is the reckoning for Aleppo! This is the reckoning for Syria! [...] You will be responsible for everything that you did on our lands. As long as we have no safety, you will not have it, I will only leave this room. With a corpse! ", And also" Remember Syria! Allah Akbar! " The Turkish newspaper "Hurriet" adds that the shooter shouted also: "You will bomb civilians, you must answer!" Eyewitnesses say that the first bullet hit Carlov in the back, then another shot followed. At the same time, the armed man allegedly first shot into the air and shouted so that everyone would leave the room, since he "does not want to harm the innocent."

Andrei Karlov was appointed to the post of Russia's ambassador to Turkey in July 2013. Earlier, he headed the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, in 2001-2006 he was an ambassador of Russia to the DPRK.

The shooter really was a police officer. His name is Mevlut Mert Altyntash, he was born in 1994 and served in the city police officers of Izmir and Ankara. The building, in which the photo exhibition was held, was guarded only by the Turkish police, Andrei Karlov did not have his guards. Turkish police officers reacted quickly, entered the shootout with the criminal and killed him. Two hours later, the police detained the mother and sister of the attacker. Late in the evening it became known that Russia will send an investigative group to Turkey to investigate the murder of the ambassador Andrei Karlov. The presidents of Russia and Turkey agreed on this during a telephone conversation that was held immediately after the tragedy.

The murder of Andrei Karlov happened on the eve of the visit to Moscow Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey on December 20, Mevlyut Chavushoglu, during which he and the heads of the foreign policy departments of Russia and Iran intend to discuss the plans of his governments regarding the war in Syria and the situation in Aleppo. This trip has already begun.

In an interview with Radio Liberty, the murder of Russia's ambassador to Turkey is commented on by a political scientist-military person, a connoisseur of Turkey, professor of the faculty of public sciences of Karlov University in Prague Emil Suleimanov :

- There are a lot of effort and groups in Turkey, dissatisfied with the Kremlin’s policy in relation to Turkey itself and in relation to the entire Middle East, and primarily in Syria. Many accuse Russia of war crimes in connection with Aleppo bombing. Can you name groups, organizations or some forces that could stand behind this attack?

It can be anyone

- It can be anyone from those you listed. The theme of Russian intervention in Syria unites both left and right in Turkey. Both the ultra -right, for example, the “Gray Wolves” movement, and ultra -group groups, and radical Islamists - all of them negatively relate to how Russia behaves in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Or maybe this is the work of the Syrian-Arabic minority in Turkey. And not even some kind of group is behind this, but private individuals, just several people who decided to "take revenge" by the Russian ambassador for Russia's actions in Aleppo.

- The Turkish Foreign Minister on Tuesday must visit Moscow for the next negotiations on Syria. Are the fragile Russian-Turkish agreements and the relative consent reached in recent months , after the cooling period associated with Syria and specifically with the destruction of the Russian bombing of Turkish fighters in November last year, are now?

Moscow is not interested in worsening relations with Ankara at the moment

-rationally Moscow is not interested in deteriorating relations with Ankara precisely at the moment, therefore, most likely, in the Kremlin they will try to write off everything on terrorists and somehow distance Turkey from this murder. And Ankara will also try to distance himself from everything that happened. I believe that it is not in the interests of Moscow to go to the escalation of relations with the Turks. The reaction will depend on which investigation and what measures will now take. It could be expected that the attack on the official Russian representative in Turkey is very likely. The Turkish police officer and security services will also play a role in the organizers of this attack and how closely they will cooperate with Russian special services, who will probably try to somehow investigate what happened in Ankara.

- How much, after attempt by a coup in the last July in Turkey, from the point of view of security, from the point of view of a terrorist threat, is the situation within this country heated? There are supporters of Fethullah Gulen , there are Kurdish separatists, there are refugees from Iraq and Syria, among whom are completely different people. How much does the Erdogan Redzhep government manage to keep the situation under control now? Almost every week we hear about explosions in Istanbul, about terrorist attacks in other cities, about real battles and ambushes in Turkish soldiers in the southeast of Turkey, and so on. How strut is everything?

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- On the one hand, everything is Shatko, because over the past two years in Turkey, at least 20 large terrorist attacks, as a result of which several hundred people were killed. On the other hand, Erdogan holds power in his hands quite tightly, so there is no need to expect some changes in the regime policy in relation to various problematic issues, Kurds or Islamists. I think there will be such a latent conflict, there will be many victims, but the regime will use this moment to strengthen its own power. Yes, Turkey is involved in two wars at once-one against Kurdish separatists in the southeast, and in the war against the radical jihadists from the Islamic State terrorist group ( prohibited in Russia.-RS ). If you remember in what situation Türkiye is in, given that state and power systems are functioning there, this is already a great success. As for tension in Turkish society-it is great, and it has been accumulated historically, since the 80s of the last century. Left and right, Islamists and secularists, Gulenovites, Erdoganovs, and so on. I think, in the light of the latest events, there was a unification of the Turkish society - on the basis that no one wanted this July coup, and everyone understood that even those who love Erdogan, that in the event of the victory of the couples, Turkey could wait for the Civil War. Events in Turkey develop ambiguously, on the Turkish chessboard - many different figures, ”says Emil Suleimanov .

Political scientist-military person, teacher of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Leonid Isaev believes that the murder of Russia's ambassador to Turkey is the side effect of the information policy that was carried out both in the Turkish and Russian public space over the long months of the crisis in the relations of Moscow and Ankara, starting from November last year, when the Turkish Air Force was killed over the Syrian-Turkish border of Russia Su-24 bomber :

- In Turkey, everything that was said about Russia during this time was similar to what was said in Russia about Turkey , only “with the opposite sign”. Russia was exhibited by the destructive force in the region, guilty of inciting the conflict - including instability in Turkey itself. Therefore, it is obvious that in the minds of a simple citizen of Turkey, who monitors publications in local media, a certain image of Russia as an enemy of his country has been formed. In our country, Turkey was also represented as the "original historical enemy of Russia", which should be treated harshly. Many of our politicians generally agreed that it was necessary to deal with Turkey, including military methods. So in Turkey the same thing happened!

And now we see the results of this policy. In Russia, there are a huge number of people who do not understand why a rapprochement suddenly occurred between Turkey and Russia, on which it is based on when it seems to have just said that Türkiye is a feces of hell. The same thing happens in Turkey - many Turks simply do not understand why "we must be friends with our original enemy."

In our country, Türkiye was also presented as the "Squealing Historical Enemy of Russia"

- There are a lot of evidence of eyewitnesses that the attacker shouted: "Remember Syria! Remember Aleppo!" In Turkey, there is a lot of effort, which either the rapprochement of Ankara and Moscow, or the actions of the Kremlin, is unprofitable, cause their hatred. It can be jihadists from the Islamic State group, and refugees from Syria, who suffered from Russian aviation actions, and Kurdish separatists, with whom, at the time of the sharp cooling of relations with Ankara, Moscow “played friendship”, and then they could feel devoted, and many more. What can this "ball of hatred" mean now for the further relations of Turkey and Russia?

This is the political murder of a representative of the Russian state, which was appointed by the President

- Of course, this is a blow - the political murder of a representative of the Russian state, which the president appointed. Of course, this will not be left without consequences. Although I think that the parties, of course, will do everything possible in order to try to resolve this conflict as soon as possible. Neither Türkiye nor Russia is interested in the fact that relations between them return to the level at which they were a few months ago. Of course, the event that occurred today is directed against Russia and against Turkey, it can be regarded as a provocation. Even if this is revenge for Aleppo-Türkiye with its own position in the Syrian conflict, in general, is not interested in the relationship with Moscow to fall to the zero mark.

The Turkish special services, of course, miscalculated!

Although what can Moscow present to Ankara? Türkiye will bring condolences, Türkiye will make a maximum possible for an impartial investigation. But I definitely do not think that it was some planned action of the Turkish authorities or special services. Another thing is that the Turkish special services, of course, miscalculated! But in recent months, Turkey is shaken by terrorist attacks, a huge number of people have suffered, and therefore the murder of the Russian ambassador is not something extraordinary, but rather a case that, no matter how sad it can be considered, can be considered typical. These are Turkish realities: no one is safe from anything, the country faces a terrorist threat.

- The circumstances of the attack indicate that it was well prepared. In general, in fact that they attempted precisely on the Russian ambassador, it seems to me that it is not a "amateur activity of a loner."

The attempt on the ambassador of Russia is a crime that requires thorough preparation and planning

- Yes, an attempt on the ambassador of Russia is a crime that requires careful preparation and planning. But, I repeat, the Turkish intelligence agencies have not been clearly unable to cope with their duties. And numerous terrorist attacks in Turkey are a very eloquent confirmation.

“Can Erdogan Revere what happened to perceive as a personal attack against him?”

- Of course, he will perceive it, because it is Erdogan who suffers most of this! After all, it was he who has to apologize to the Russian side, look for words of justification. He, as the head of state, is responsible for the murder of the ambassador. Erdogan will perceive everything as, let's say, an attempt on his personal interests, and I think that this will contribute to a thorough investigation of the crime. Although the problem is that modern Türkiye remains a hostage to so many phobias, which sometimes prevent it from figure out where the root of the problem lies.

The Turkish authorities can turn out to be hostages of their own stereotypes and dump everything on Fethullah Gulen and his supporters or the Kurds. This Turkish government of the times of the "late Erdogan" is very characteristic! But the fact that the reputation of Erdogan suffers most of all of this murder should contribute to the determination of the authorities: the Turkish leader will probably undertake a maximum of possible to repay a possible conflict. And also to contribute to a more or less impartial investigation, perhaps even a joint investigation with the Russian special services, ” Leonid Isaev believes.

Representatives of the UN, the EU, the USA, many other countries of the world immediately condemned the murder in Ankara. "There can be no justification for an attack on a diplomat. We hope that the perpetrators will be involved in justice," said a representative of the US State Department.

The last time a successful attempt on the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Moscow abroad occurred on June 7, 1927, when the Soviet Ambassador Peter Voikov, one of the organizers of the murder in 1918 in Yekaterinburg, was mortally wounded at the station in Warsaw, the last Russian emperor Nicholas the Second and members of the tsarist family with close associates. When asked why he shot, the Card replied: "I took revenge on Russia, for millions of people."

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  Alexander GOSTEV

  The editor of the RS information service, international observer, author and editor of the heading and podcast "Atlas of the World"

  Gosteva@rferl.org