Russian ambassador killed in Turkey

The assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov, was a well-planned and premeditated murder, Turkey's interior minister told journalists. He said it did not happen at the initiative of the killer or out of personal vengeance.

The assassination of ambassador Karlov is a sign of a serious split in the Turkish elite, a top Russian senator told RT. The shots targeted the Russian state itself, but still won’t affect Moscow’s policies and its cooperation with Turkey and Iran on Syrian reconciliation efforts.

The man who assassinated Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov is "obviously" a member of the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation (FETO) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, citing the killer’s background and connections as "proof".

Two American journalists have crossed a line in their reaction to the murder of a Russian diplomat this week. They are both a disgrace to the profession they purport to practice.

The Russian ambassador’s murder won’t affect the Syrian peace process, says commentator Abdel Bari Atwan. The Russian-Iranian-Turkish talks on Syria could help reach a peaceful settlement after Western involvement only led to bloody anarchy, he adds.

The assassination of ambassador Karlov will unlikely damage relations between Russia and Turkey, who, alongside Iran, have a good chance of succeeding in the resolution of the Syrian conflict where the UN failed, former US ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith told RT.