MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. The murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov underlines the unprecedented challenge of modern terrorism and the fight against this evil will be successful only on a collective basis, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The key efforts on enhancing security and stability in 2016 focused on countering international terrorism, the ministry said. "The death of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov as a result of a vile act of terror stresses the unprecedented challenge of modern terrorism that has no counterparts and reflects the whopping inhuman ideology and practice," the statement reads.

The ministry recalled that the Russian president’s initiative put forward at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on setting up a broad international anti-terrorist coalition is still on the table. "The fight against this evil may be successful only on a collective, fair and legal basis with the central role of the UN and its Security Council," it said.

Karlov was shot dead on December 19 while delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition. According to Turkey’s authorities, the attacker was a former police officer, who was neutralized by security forces. Russia’s Foreign Ministry called it a terrorist act while the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case labeling Karlov’s assassination an act of international terrorism.