MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The killer who gunned down Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov late last year, policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas, had connections with Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, the daily Sabah quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying.

"The leader of FETO (Fetullah Terrorist Organization - TASS) [Fetullah] Gulen had met with the killer. All information had been sent to the killer’s telephone," the prosecutor’s office said.

Ankara holds Gulen, who has resided in the United States starting from 1999, and his organization FETO responsible for masterminding the July 15, 2016 government coup attempt.

Andrey Karlov was killed at the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition in Ankara on December 19 last year. The attacker - policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas - was liquidated at the crime scene.