Ceremony Commemorating Murdered Russian Ambassador Karlov Takes Place In Ankara

A ceremony marking the second anniversary of the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was held on Wednesday at the Russian Embassy in Ankara.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2018) A ceremony marking the second anniversary of the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov was held on Wednesday at the Russian Embassy in Ankara.

The ceremony was attended by the members of the Russian Embassy in Turkey, chiefs of a number of foreign diplomatic missions, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Kiran, a delegation of Turkish parliamentarians lead by Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Volkan Bozkir, as well as representatives of local businesses and social communities. The ceremony participants placed flowers at a memorial to Karlov.

On December 19, 2016, Karlov was shot by an off-duty Turkish police officer, Mevlut Mert Altintas, at the opening of an art gallery exhibition called "Russia from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka through the eyes of a traveler" in Ankara.

The attacker was killed at the scene by the police.

Russia and Turkey launched a joint investigation into the horrific incident immediately afterward. The Turkish authorities declared that the murder was premeditated and suspected that the crime was organized by US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Ankara of masterminding the 2016 failed coup.

The trial in the case of the murder of Karlov will start on January 8.