Europe minister Sir Alan Duncan condemns murder of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey
Comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson described the 'despicable murder' of Andrei Karlov as a 'cowardly attack'
THE MURDER of Russia's ambassador to Turkey was a "heinous attack" says the minister for Europe Sir Alan Duncan.
Diplomat Andrei Karlov was gunned down at a photography exhibition in Ankara, with the killer named by the Turkish authorities as 22-year-old riot policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas.
Sir Alan said the Foreign Office had been in contact with the authorities in Turkey and Russia following the assassination.
Dramatic images showed suited assassin Altintas stood behind Mr Karlov as he gave his speech, before brandishing a pistol and firing.
He then shouted in Turkish: "Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!". He also shouted "Allahu akbar," the Arabic phrase for "God is great".
Russian forces have supported Syrian president Bashar Assad's troops in the battle to retake rebel-held areas of Aleppo in recent weeks.
Appearing before the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Sir Alan said: "We obviously fully condemn this, it's a heinous attack.
"You can be assured that the Foreign Office, in a proper way, has been in contact both with our Turkish and our Russian counterparts to express our condolences."
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After murdering the ambassador, Altintas was killed in a shoot-out with Turkish police.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the "despicable murder" of the ambassador as a "cowardly attack".
And Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon told MPs it was "a shocking act involving a diplomat who should otherwise, of course, enjoy proper protection", adding: "His murder does not bring any conflict in the Middle East further to a resolution."
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that the killing of Mr Karlov was a "provocation aimed at derailing Russia-Turkey ties and the peace process in Syria".
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a video message being shown on several Turkish TV channels, said: "This is a provocation to damage the normalisation process of Turkish-Russian relations."
He added: "Both the Russian and Turkish administrations have the determination not to fall for this provocation."
Richard Moore, the UK's ambassador to Turkey, said on Twitter: "Devastating news about Andrei Karlov. My wife & my thoughts with his wife Marina & family & to all colleagues at Russian Embassy."
He described Mr Karlov as "quietly spoken, hospitable (and) professional".