<p>Andrei Karlov &ndash; Russia&rsquo;s Ambassador to Turkey &ndash; was shot Monday while delivering a speech at a photo exhibition in Ankara. ;</p>
<p>The gunman, believed to be a renegade Turkish police officer, shot Karlov in the back while shouting &ldquo;Allahu Akbar.&rdquo; The perpetrator, later identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, was a 22-year-old who had been with the Ankara police for over two years. He was shot and killed Monday night by Turkish police.</p>
<p>The 62-year-old ambassador passed away at a local hospital. ;</p>
<p>Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed revenge for the attack. &ldquo;We have to know who organized the killing, who gave orders to the assassin,&rdquo; said Putin. &ldquo;The fight against terrorism will only be stepped up.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Putin referred to Karlov as an &ldquo;outstanding diplomat&rdquo; and has launched a serious investigation. &ldquo;He was killed while performing his duties,&rdquo; said Putin, adding that a memorial would be erected in Karlov&rsquo;s honor. ;</p>
<p>Relations between Russia and Turkey have been strained since last November, when a Turkish aircraft shot down a Russian military jet, and Ankara Mayor Melih Gokcek believes the assassination was aimed to prevent reconciliation.</p>
<p>Putin has stated that the &ldquo;provocative act&rdquo; was also aimed to disrupt the &ldquo;peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran, and other countries interested in settling the conflict in Syria.&rdquo; Foreign and defense ministers from Turkey, Russia, and Iran are scheduled to meet Tuesday in Moscow to discuss the future of Syria. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I believe this is an attack on Turkey, the Turkish state, and the Turkish people, and also a clear provocation,&rdquo; said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. &ldquo;I am sure our Russian friends also see this fact. Both Turkey and Russia have the will not to be deceived by this false flag attack.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Osman Faruk Logoglu, former Turkish ambassador to the US, notes that recent evacuations in Aleppo have upset &ldquo;many radical elements of the Syrian opposition&#8221; and may have had somethign to do with the attack. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a very complex situation. But the end result is that we really have to keep our cool.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>While Turkey and Russia cooperate in the investigation, Putin has ordered increased security at Russian embassies across the globe. He has also tightened security for all Turkish missions in Russia.  ;</p>
<p>The United States stands ready to aid Russia in the investigation, and Secretary of State John Kerry has referred to the assassination as &ldquo;an assault on the right of all diplomats to safely and securely advance and represent their nations to the world.&rdquo; ;</p>