News of the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey has sent ripples throughout the international community with Greece’s Foreign Ministry immediately responding to it, condemning the murder of Russia's Ambassador Andrey G. Karlov.
Karlov was assassinated by an off-duty police officer at an art gallery in Ankara who was later killed in an exchange with police. According to reports the assassin’s father, sister and mother were also detained.
The Greek Foreign Ministry extended its "sincerest condolences" to the Russian Ambassador’s family and to the Russian foreign ministry with a tweet posted on the ministry's twitter account @GreeceMFA.
"Greece unequivocally condemns the heinous murder of #Russia's Ambassador to #Turkey. Sincerest condolences to his family and friends @mfa_russia," the ministry tweet said.
Russia has described the assassination as an act of ‘provocation’ that aims to undermine the recent normalisation of relations between Russian and Turkey and as an attempt to undermine the peace efforts in Syria and the war on ISIS in the region.
News of the assassination came as a truck ploughed into men, women and children in a Christmas market in the German capital of Berlin, killing a dozen people and injuring over 40.
