Russian envoy’s killing must wake up Istanbul
The assassination of Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, on Monday, in the heart of the city of Ankara, is condemnable. Whatever may be the reasons and forces behind the killer, the incident highlights the rise of terror acts across Turkey in the past few years. Though the unidentified gunman was neutralised and killed subsequently by Government forces, yet the incident sharply brought to light the absence of adequate security in the art gallery, where the envoy was shot. Meanwhile, a senior security official stated that there were “very strong signs” that the gunman belonged to a network of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his associates, who orchestrated the failed coup in July. Many say that both Ankara and Moscow will manage to find common grounds for blaming their perceived strategic adversaries for this act of terror. As expected, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called up his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, to contain any further damage that the incident could cause to bilateral relations. Reportedly, both the leaders agreed that “our cooperation and solidarity in fighting terrorism should be even stronger”. This shows how they resolve to fight the ever-growing threat of terrorism in both the countries. What brings clear to the international community in some way or the other, is that the attacker was either distantly connected to the Islamic State (IS) or may have been severely perturbed by the current war in Syria. After killing the envoy, the attacker reportedly shouted: “Don't forget Aleppo, don't forget Syria.” It is an indication of ‘lone wolf attack', as espoused by the IS ideologues regularly, through their social media posts and other media briefs, to the ‘believers', so as to inflict maximum damage to their enemies.
Though future fallouts of this brazen act are not clear, but at the moment it will possibly drive both Russia and Turkey closer than before. Both the countries see an invisible hand of a strong Western conspiracy in the act. Beyond all these speculations, it must be said that Turkey should not take this episode as simply a Western ploy against it or Russia. The country should come up with stringent measures to nab all terror elements across the country. On Monday itself, another gunman was found to be firing shots outside the US embassy in Ankara. Apart from these, the constant threat of the Kurdish rebels, the presence of IS cadres and other anti-Government elements are on the rise in the country. Most importantly, since the shooting down of a Russian aircraft last year by Turkish forces, the relations of the two nations have gradually moved to a better position by now. Putin, even offered his support to Erdogan, in his fight against the coup leaders, when the West distanced itself from Ankara. Therefore, Erdogan needs to see how to balance the country's relations with both Russia and America, as it is a Nato ally, participating in the ongoing Syrian conflict.