Russians indicate they believe ambassador’s assassin did not act alone
PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has indicated he does not believe the killer of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey acted alone.
Andrei Karlov was shot dead on Monday evening in front of stunned onlookers at a photo exhibition in Ankara.
His assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas, of Ankara’s riot police squad, was subsequently killed in a police operation. Russia has flown a team of 18 investigators and foreign ministry officials to Turkey to take part in the probe. Their plane returned with Mr Karlov’s body. Russian officials and Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was visiting Moscow, met the family at the Vnukovo airport late on Tuesday.
Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin’s spokesman, said: “We shouldn’t rush with any theories before the investigators establish who were behind the assassination of our ambassador.”
Ankara has not made public any theories, but a senior Turkish government official has said it was unlikely Altintas acted alone.
The official said the killing had all the marks of being “fully professional, not a one-man action”.
Yesterday, the Russian State Duma voted on a resolution that urged authorities to take extra steps to protect Russian diplomats abroad. The Turkish shooting has led US Presidentelect Donald Trump to arrange a meeting with his incoming national security adviser.
Mr Trump appeared to jump ahead of investigators in blaming Islamic terrorists for deadly incidents on Monday in Turkey and Germany, and vowed anew to eradicate their regional and global networks.
He called the brazen shooting of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey “a violation of all rules of civilised order”. Mr Trump added that a “radical Islamic terrorist” had assassinated Mr Karlov.
The President-elect’s meeting with retired general Michael Flynn will come a day after Mr Flynn and several other members of the incoming national security team met Vice President-elect Mike Pence in Washington.
Officials said the meeting was planned before the acts of violence in Ankara and Berlin, though they were discussed.
The gathering included retired general John Kelly, Mr Trump’s nominee for head of the Department of Homeland Security; retired general James Mattis, the pick for defence secretary; and Rex Tillerson, the head of Exxon Mobil and the nominee for secretary of state.