Russian official in Israel: Envoy's murder in Turkey will up Moscow's strikes in Syria

The assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey in Ankara on Monday will lead Moscow to increase its military involvement in the Syrian civil war, The Jerusalem Post quoted Russian Deputy Ambassador to Israel Alexy Drobinin as saying in an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 TV on Monday night. 

His comments came after an off-duty Turkish police officer shot and killed Russian envoy Andrei Karlov at an art gallery in the Turkish capital in an apparent revenge killing over Russia’s support of the Syrian regime and its recent air strikes in the city of Aleppo.

“I’m sure that this event, this terrorist attack, will only strengthen the resolve, the strikes, that Russia carries out against terrorist organizations in Syria,” the deputy ambassador noted.

“In recent days there have been telephone conversations between [Russian] President Vladimir Putin and [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan - I believe Russia will continue to carry out missions in Syria and this terrorist attack won’t affect that,” he added.

Source: MENA