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Top diplomat says Russian envoy’s murder proves importance of war on terror

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the tragedy compels Russia once again to seek the implementation of the initiative to create a global anti-terror front

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. The assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov proves the need to fight terrorism without double standards, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

According to Lavrov, this tragedy "compels us once again to seek the implementation of the initiative, which President Vladimir Putin put forward a year ago to create a global anti-terror front."

"I don’t want to make comparisons but I believe that this grief, like the grief of September 11, 2001, will remove the layers of the states’ approaches in the struggle against terrorism," Lavrov said.

"Perhaps, it won’t remove it finally but it will at least remove some double standards from the agenda," the Russian foreign minister said.

The Russian ambassador was assassinated on Monday evening in Ankara during his speech at the opening of a photo exhibition: "Russia from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka as Viewed by a Traveler."

As the Turkish authorities reported, the assassin was immediately killed by local security forces. The gunman also wounded three people. The Russian Foreign Ministry characterized the assassination as an international terrorist act.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under part 3, article 361 of the Russian Criminal Code ("An Act of International Terrorism Entailing an Individual’s Death").