NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, which is a member of the NATO alliance.
“My condolences to his family & Russian people,” Stoltenberg tweeted Monday. “No justification for such a heinous act.”
The shooting was an apparent act of retribution against Russia for aiding Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s assault on Aleppo, a major city previously held by rebels in the ongoing civil war. But it has broader implications than just the Syria conflict, as Turkey and Russia will be under pressure to maintain peaceful relations without undermining the integrity of the NATO alliance.
Russia is already calling the shooting a terrorist act.
“Today in Ankara as a result of an attack, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Turkey, Andrey Gennadyevich Karlov, received a wound from which he died,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “We regard this as a terrorist act.”
The Turkish foreign ministry echoed that statement, condemning the “lowly terrorist attack” and vowing not to let the killing to “cast a shadow” over Turkey’s relationship with Russia, according to Reuters.
The attack came on the same day that the NATO-Russia Council, a diplomatic forum for the NATO allies and Russia, met to discuss “Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea,” as Stoltenberg put it, and the resulting NATO buildup in eastern Europe.
“Allies and Russia hold different views. And our meeting does not indicate a return to business as usual,” Stoltenberg said after the meeting. “NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat. Everything we do — including strengthening our presence in the east of the Alliance — is defensive, proportionate and in line with our international commitments. NATO’s goal is, and remains, to protect our allies, prevent conflict and preserve the peace.”
