UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on December 16, 2016 condemned the murder of the Russian ambassador in Turkey, saying he was “appalled by this senseless act of terror.” Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead while attending an art exhibition in Ankara by a Turkish policeman who shouted “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu akbar” (God is great)./ AFP PHOTO
UNITED NATION, United States (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Monday strongly condemned the murder of the Russian ambassador in Turkey while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was appalled by “this senseless act of terror.”
Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead while attending an art exhibition in Ankara by a Turkish policeman who shouted “Don’t forget Aleppo” and “Allahu akbar” (God is great).
The council said in a unanimous statement that it “condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack” and expressed condolences to Karlov’s family and to the Russian government.
The council will on Tuesday observe a minute a silence to pay tribute to the Russian diplomat, said Spanish Ambassador Roman Oyarzun, who holds the body’s rotating presidency.
Ban said he was “appalled by this senseless act of terror and emphasizes that there can be no justification for the targeting of diplomatic personnel and civilians.”
“The secretary-general is following the unfolding situation closely and wishes the other people who were reportedly injured in the attack a speedy and full recover,” said a statement from the UN spokesman.
Venezuela’s Ambassador Rafael Ramirez denounced what he termed as a “campaign of hatred” against Russia, in reference to mounting criticism from Western powers of Moscow’s role in Syria.
“Everything that is said, everything that is done in a situation which is so fraught with extremist actions, such as the situation in Syria, it does have, unfortunately, consequences,” said Ramirez.
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