20.12.2016
Column: Politics
Region: Russia in the World
On December 19 an armed man murdered
Russia’s Ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov in cold blood during the speech
that the victim was delivering to honor the opening of the photo exhibition
“Russia through the eyes of the Turks” in the Turkish capital. It’s been
reported that were three other victims.
The footage that
appeared on the Internet shows how an armed man approaches the ambassador from
the back and starts shooting at him, while shouting “Allah Akbar! Do not forget
about Aleppo! Do not forget about Syria!”
The attacker was
soon killed by local policemen and security guards. It is now reported that the
terrorist known as Mevlut Mert Altintas was a former Turkish policeman that
served in a quick response special unit, while the HaberTurk news agency claims
that he was fired after the failed coup d’etat in July.
Both Russian and
Turkish authorities describe the assassination as a terrorist attack, which was
planned and executed to undermine the improving Turkish-Russian relations. In
official statements the leaders of the two states agreed to strengthen
collective efforts in the struggle against international terrorism, while
understanding the efforts of some hostile political forces to play this attack
in their favor by disrupting the recent Russian-Turkish normalization along
with the peace process in Syria.
It’s noteworthy
that there’s a number of similarities with the provocation that took place in
Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, that provoked the First World War and the consequent
demise of four empires, including the Ottoman and the Russian empires. However,
this time around the alignment of forces has changed drastically, with the
majority of European players aligning with the United States in a bid to
prevent Russia from participating in the settlement of a number of
international conflicts.
The choice of
Turkey for this provocation is clearly not an accident. Erdogan’s growing
alienation from the West is not simple being questioned by
the Western media, but also the leaders of Western Europe and the United
States. A particularly harsh criticism of Erdogan has been voiced in recent
months, when it became clear that the rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow
is changing the whole regional dynamics, with Ankara assisting Moscow in the
fight against international terrorism in Syria. The recent fall of radical
militants in Aleppo has infuriated Western political elites, that have not
simply been taking anti-Russian actions, but also anti-Turkish ones.
The recent failed
coup d’etat attempt in Turkey was organized by the establishment of the United
States, its allies in Western Europe, while the aftermath of this coup resulted
in Ankara losing the chance to get acceded to the European Union.
At this point we
know that the incident with the downing of Russian military bomber Su-24 in
November 2015 and the subsequent long-term deterioration of Russian-Turkish
relations was also staged by the United States and its NATO allies. Even back
then Washington tried to use Turkey to pursue the deterioration of relations
between Russia and NATO, which back then was recognized even by The Washington
Post and The Guardian.
As for the
assasination of the Russian ambassador that took place in Ankara, one can
recall John Kirby’s threats to
Russia that it was going to lose its citizens.
The timing of the
provocation of the Russian ambassador has been carefully staged, timed to
coincide with the vote of the
Electoral College in a bid to prevent Donald Trump from becoming the next
president of the United States. In recent months Trump has been bitterly
opposed by the Obama administration that is unable to come to grips with the
fact that Hillary Clinton has lost the presidential election. In the meantime
we’ve heard all sort of anti-Russian stories aimed at spreading Russophobia and
hysteria, starting with the so-called doping scandal and ending with the
alleged involvement “Russian hackers” in Donald Trump’s victory.
The assasination
of Russia’s ambassador has been universally condemend across the globe. And its
curious that Russia, and Turkey have displayed enough political wisdom and
responsibility not to get caught in yet another confrontation that could end up
in the same way that the murder in Sarajevo did a century ago. There’s little
doubt that a thorough investigation of this provocative attack will uncover the
true “masterminds” behind these events.
Martin
Berger is a freelance journalist and geopolitical
analyst, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”
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