A terrorist act on December 19 led to the death of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Turkey – Mr. A. G. Karlov.

He was shot in the back during the opening of an exhibition in Ankara. Dozens of ambassadors, diplomats and journalists, representatives of public institutions, hundreds of ordinary people signed the condolence book provided at the Russian Embassy in Sofia on this occasion.

H.E. Mr. Anatoly Makarov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Bulgaria, expressed his condolences: „I knew well Andrei Gennadievich – the work for our compatriots abroad had brought us together. In this respect his work was not easy - our enemies were actively trying to split the Russian diaspora in Turkey, to undermine the efforts of our embassy there to normalize the Russian-Turkish relations. He worked in extremely complex conditions, but coped with dignity with all the difficulties.

A. G. Karlov was a brilliant diplomat, a man who could be relied upon. The vile terrorist act, a victim of which he became, once again proved how great the threat of international terrorism is and the need for joint actions of the international community to combat it.“

On December 21 in „St. Nicholas“ church in Sofia was held a memorial service in memory of the assassination of the Ambassador Andrey Karlov.

The photo is provided by the press service of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Bulgaria.