Syrian Kurds Condemn Killing of Russian Ambassador in Turkey

Syrian Kurds condemn the murder of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in Ankara and express condolences to the Russian people, Rezan Hedo, a member of the Syrian Democratic Council, said Tuesday.

ALEPPO (Sputnik) — The Syrian Democratic Council is an umbrella body involved in governing the de-facto autonomous Federation of Northern Syria — Rojava. It is the political wing of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces currently engaged with terrorists in Syria.

On Monday, Karlov was killed by a gunman at an art gallery exhibition opening in Ankara. Three other people were also injured in the attack.

"We strongly condemn this terrorist act which caused the death of Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov. We express sincere and deep condolences to the ambassador's family, to the Russian people and the Russian leadership," Hedo told RIA Novosti.

The attack came just a day before Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers were set to meet for discussing the settlement of the Syrian conflict in Moscow. The meeting will proceed with the Turkish minister arriving in Moscow despite the incident. Both Turkish and Russian sides said the incident aimed to disrupt Syrian settlement, while a Syrian High Negotiations Committee (HNC) representative told Sputnik that the murder will not have an impact on the Syrian situation.

Russian and Turkish foreign ministers spoke soon after the attack and resolved to strengthen counter-terrorist cooperation in the wake of the attack.