The Australian Turkish Advocacy Alliance (ATAA) is deeply saddened by the assassination of the Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov in Turkey’s capital Ankara. We strongly condemn this barbarous terrorist act.
Unfortunately, as bad as this terrorist act is, we are seeing some people around the world trying to bring some sort of justification to the Ambassador’s callous murder. We have seen similar moral relativism when more than 40 of our foreign ministry diplomats were murdered by the Armenian terrorists.
We know how it feels.
This heinous murder of the Russian ambassador happened 36-years after our own Consul General Sarik Ariyak and his bodyguard Engin Sever were murdered by Armenian terrorists in Sydney.
We call Australia and the world to unite against terrorism.
A terrorist is a terrorist and there can be no justification for terrorism. We will be closely following the investigation into this terrorist act.
Ambassador Karlov joined the diplomatic service in 1976 and worked in different positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and Russia, as well as foreign missions. He served as Russia’s ambassador to Pyongyang in 2001-2006, and later worked as the chief of the Foreign Ministry’s consular department. He had served as the ambassador to Turkey since 2013.
ATAA extends its heartfelt sympathies and condolences to Ambassador Karlov’s family and loved ones, and to the people of Russia.
May the Ambassador rest in peace. Mekanı Cennet Olsun.