Assassinated Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov was remembered at a ceremony held in Ankara over the weekend as his widow Marina Karlova stressed that brotherly ties will be a nice memory for her husband.
The ceremony for Karlov, who was killed on Dec. 19 last year, was held in front of the Russian Embassy in Ankara. Karlov's successor, new Russian Ambassador to Turkey Alexei Erkhov, Foreign Ministry official Şefik Vural Altay, Karlov's wife Marina Karlova and Ankara Mayor Mustafa Tuna attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Karlova said brotherly ties would be the best memory for Karlov. "We have lived in this beautiful country for three and a half years, we have loved both the country and its people, and it is absolutely necessary that tragedies like this should not be repeated," she said.
"In our relations, absolutely nothing more than brotherhood and friendship will be his most beautiful memory," she added.
Turkish Foreign Ministry official Ambassador Altay said the investigation is being carried out with the utmost attention. "He has made a significant contribution to the development of Turkey-Russia relations, he was a valuable ambassador and a colleague, who has caused deep sorrow in the Turkish state and society with his death," Altay said.
"The investigation of the treacherous assassination of our dear friend Karlov continues to be carried out with the utmost care with the participation of the Russian side," he added.
Meanwhile, Guru Media Group Chairman Hayreddin Aydınbaş was arrested as part of the investigation carried out by the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office.
Karlov was shot dead on Dec. 19 as he was making a speech at an art gallery. He was shot by Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, an off-duty policeman who was killed in the ensuing shootout with police. The assassination was at a time of thaw between strained Turkish and Russian relations and the investigation found that Altıntaş was linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), blamed for last year's coup attempt in Turkey.
Altıntaş's name was also found in the FETÖ-documents pertaining to "secret imams," allegedly together with a note describing him as "one of us."
Altıntaş's name is mentioned in a 20,000-word file stored on a microcard that was seized at the house of an alleged FETÖ-member during operations which took place in April, media reports said.