Putin’s spokesman laments ambassador’s slaying

The assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey on Monday was an effort to disrupt peace talks in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Tuesday.

Dmitry Peskov said the killing of Ambassador Andrey Karlov “benefits those who want to drive a wedge between Russia and Turkey” and serves to damage “the normalization of the talks that allow to spur and join (our) efforts for Syrian political settlement,” according to The Associated Press.

{mosads}Karlov was gunned town Monday evening while speaking at an art gallery opening in Turkey’s capital city of Ankara. The gunman, dressed in a suit, reportedly shouted, “Don’t forget about Syria, don’t forget about Aleppo!”

Putin on Monday called the attack an attempt to derail the peace process.

“This murder is clearly a provocation aimed at undermining the improvement and normalization of Russian-Turkish relations, as well as undermining the peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in settling the conflict in Syria,” he said in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan echoed Putin’s remarks in his own statement.

“We agree with Putin that this is a provocation, there is no split of opinion about this,” said the Turkish president. 

The assassination comes as the relationship between Turkey and Russia has begun to warm. Throughout the war in Syria, the two have been on opposing sides, with Russia backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkey supporting the opposition groups trying to overthrow the president.