Turkey and Russia have pledged to continue to cooperate on various issues despite the killing of the Russian ambassador to Turkey by a policeman last night.
The two countries have renewed their pledge to continue to work together to bring a resolution to the devastating war in Syria. Both Turkey and Russia said they would not allow the assasination to derail their newly improved relationship as that would be one of the aims of the people behind the murder.
The foreign ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran said in Moscow on Tuesday that they’d agreed on a joint approach to Syria that includes pressing for peace talks and a cease-fire. Their cooperation has proved effective on the ground, while “unfortunately the American side couldn’t confirm its participation in actions agreed” under a failed peace deal in September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
The agreement was announced after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said they’d strengthen ties strained over Syria and intensify the struggle against terrorism following Monday’s assassination of envoy, Andrey Karlov.
“We will never allow our relationship with Russia to be ruined,” Erdogan said in Istanbul on Tuesday, adding that he and Putin agreed “that our expanding fields of cooperation with Russia led by Syria will not be affected by this attack.”
The gunman, who shot Karlov in the back at an art exhibit in the Turkish capital, shouted “Allahu akbar” and “don’t forget Aleppo” — a reference to the Syrian city where mostly Islamist rebels were defeated this month by government troops backed by Russia and Iran. The taking of the city, once Syria’s largest, represents one of Russia’s biggest victories since it joined the Syrian war last year in support of President Bashar al-Assad.