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Russia, Turkey inch closer in anti-terror solidarity after envoy’s killing
The cold-blooded assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey by a rage-driven off-duty police officer has put spotlight on the new face of terror in the region, with Moscow declaring a war on terrorists and their co-conspirators.
The assassin, who has been identified as police officer Mevlut Mert Altintas, shouted “revenge” for the Russian offensive in Aleppo, imbuing the dramatic killing of Russian envoy Andry Karlov at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital on Dec 19 with political and ideological colouring. The assassination had initially sparked off anxieties about Russia-Turkish confrontation, but the two countries have so far managed to contain the damage, and in a deft diplomatic tightrope walk have gone ahead with the trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran on the Aleppo situation.
If the aim of the assassin and his backers were to put Moscow and Ankara on a warpath, it seems that it was a wasted game as both countries have shown solidarity in the face of terror and have resorted to conspiracy theories. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Mr Putin over the killing of Karlov and stressed that the two leaders had agreed that “our cooperation and solidarity fighting terrorism should be even stronger”.