A TRAGEDY FOR RUSSO-TURKISH RELATIONS?

By Ilayda Nijhar – Istanbul

A few hours ago it was reported that the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was shot by a former Turkish police officer by the name of Mert Altintas. The shootings took place at an exhibition opening in Ankara on Monday evening. A few minutes into Karlov’s speech, the police officer fired eight shots directed at  the ambassador. According to reports, the officer shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the shootings. The motive behind the attack has been said to be linked to the ongoing situation in Syria with the gunman declaring that Aleppo should not be so easily dismissed. The attacker was killed immediately by Turkish special forces and since the incident took place numerous telephone exchanges have occurred between Ankara and Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already called for an emergency meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the heads of security services. The situation as it stands is incredibly delicate. After months of unstable relations between Turkey and Russia this new event can either damage relations permanently or cause further political disarray. Yet the timing of this attack seems to be extremely coincidental. Round table discussions were due to take place the following day concerning the situation in Syria with Russia, Turkey and Iran as participants. Karlov had also played an important role in the ongoing peace process for Syria. It would be ignorant to cast aside the idea that a potential motive for the assassination was stimulated by those who were not in favour of Russia and Turkey working together to come to an agreement over Syria. We have already witnessed crackdowns in Turkey over the past few months following the failed coup attempt in July. Nearly all sections of Turkish society have been cleansed of Fetullah Gulen supporters, more commonly known as ‘Feto’ supporters. Therefore, we must be cautious when assessing the parties involved with this tragic attack. Already Turkish authorities are raising questions over the role of Feto in these attacks, without any form of evidence, as before.  But more specifically so- what role do other parties have in this attack? Could this be a direct retaliation towards increasing Russian power in that region by those who feel threatened by their actions? It would be particularly interesting to oversee the standpoint of NATO leadership over this recent development and to follow their line of view in due course. The assassination of the Russian ambassador can be noted as one of the worst political travesties of 2016, bearing in mind that there has been one too many this year. The attack of a foreign diplomat shows that no-one is exempt from danger and that we all continue to live in a world of fear. Putin has made it clear that he will find those who are responsible and bring them to justice under any circumstance. He has also made it clear that this can be interpreted as a heinous terrorist attack which will not succeed in destabilising Russo-Turkish relations at any cost. But the question still remains; exactly how much political significance will this attack carry?

I am currently in Istanbul, a city which is no stranger to attacks of this kind. With bombs being detonated nearly every two weeks with the latest being in Besiktas and Kayseri, the people of Turkey no longer wish to experience such travesties. Everyone here condemns what happened in Ankara today and they will continue to stand by those who only seek to carry out righteousness. We can only hope that there will not be repercussions on the same scale as witnessed in the past.

ILAYDA NIJHAR       LONDRAPOSTA-İSTANBUL