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Much of the world was shocked and perhaps even a bit fearful as reports began coming in Monday of the assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey while delivering remarks at an art museum in Ankara, with some no doubt recalling the similarities of the incident to the one that sparked World War I.
Fears of a broader world war being touched off by the horrible murder appear to have been quelled for the moment though, as Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan over the phone shortly after the assassination, according to Reuters.
That, however, doesn’t mean that Putin and Russia will not retaliate for what Putin described as a deliberate provocation designed to disrupt the uneasy Russian-Turkish relationship and derail efforts to wind down the civil war in Syria.
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“A crime has been committed and it was without doubt a provocation aimed at spoiling the normalization of Russo-Turkish relations and spoiling the Syrian peace process which is being actively pushed by Russia, Turkey, Iran and others,” Putin declared. “There can only be one response – stepping up the fight against terrorism. The bandits will feel this happening.”
While praising slain Ambassador Andrei Karlov, Putin also revealed that he is sending investigators to Turkey to work hand-in-hand with Turkish officials, proclaiming, “We must know who directed the killer’s hand,” according to Newsmax.
Putin ordered security measures to be stepped up at Russian embassies and consulates around the world in case of further attacks, while also ordering extra security for Turkish diplomatic facilities in Russia, to guard against rogue attempts at retaliation by angry Russians.
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According to the U.K. Express, the Russian Foreign Ministry is expected to raise the issue of the assassination with the United Nations Security Council immediately.
“There is no place for terrorism and we will be resolutely fighting against it,” stated a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
In 1914,the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, presumptive heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated in Sarajevo, Serbia, an act of terrorism that eventually drew all of Europe into World War I.
Though we appeared to be on the verge of a global conflagration after the terrible assassination of a Russian diplomat in Turkey, it would appear that radical Islamic terrorists are the only ones who should be afraid of Putin’s response to the atrocity.
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