Russia mourns slain ambassador to Turkey with Moscow ceremony

MOSCOW/ISTANBUL – Russia mourned Ambassador Andrey Karlov with a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow attended by the country’s leadership, three days after the career diplomat was gunned down in an art gallery in Ankara.

President Vladimir Putin consoled the ambassador’s widow, Marina, at the televised ceremony, also attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A funeral service was then held at Moscow’s prestigious Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, presided over by the Russian Orthodox Church’s highest-ranking clergyman, Patriarch Kirill.

Putin the previous day posthumously bestowed the honour of Hero of the Russian Federation to Karlov, who had served for decades in North and South Korea before assuming the ambassadorship in Turkey three years ago.

A gunman identified as a Turkish law enforcement officer fatally shot Karlov in the back with a handgun on Monday night at a Turkish photographer’s exhibition of scenes from Russia.

The gunman, dressed in a dark suit and tie, shouted Islamist slogans and denounced Russia’s military campaign in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Turkish authorities quickly detained several close family members of the gunman, releasing six of them from custody on Thursday after questioning.

Russia and Turkey, which only recently patched up relations after a turbulent period, have agreed to jointly investigate the murder.