Day: December 22, 2016

Russia lays to rest murdered Turkey envoy with full honours

Russia staged a sombre memorial ceremony on Thursday for Andrei Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Turkey gunned down in Ankara on Monday by a man shouting “Don’t forget Aleppo”.

Russia and Turkey have branded the assassination a failed attempt to derail a rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara which has seen them cooperate more closely over Syria, where they have backed different sides in the conflict.

Diplomats and family members gathered at the Russian Foreign Ministry, a looming Stalin-era skyscraper in central Moscow, to bid farewell to Karlov, who was 62.

TV footage showed Karlov’s body lying in an open casket in the building’s marble-clad lobby flanked by a uniformed honour guard as mourners, including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, approached to lay flowers.

Lavrov said Karlov had been murdered on the front line and had been the victim of “a despicable terrorist act”.

President Vladimir Putin also paid his respects, briefly sitting beside the coffin and speaking to Karlov’s widow, who wore a black veil.

Karlov was a Soviet-trained diplomat who worked in North and South Korea during the 1990s and 2000s and was sent to Turkey in 2013.

His name was etched into a slab of pink marble on the wall of the Foreign Ministry along with the names of Russia’s most illustrious diplomats.

Proceedings will move to Moscow’s gold-domed Christ the Saviour Cathedral later on Thursday where the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will lead a ceremony.

Putin, who has said he knew Karlov personally, has posthumously given Karlov the Hero of Russia award, the country’s highest military medal.

“We must know who directed the killer’s hand,” Putin said after the murder, promising retribution.

Turkish authorities have identified the assassin as Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, who had worked for Ankara’s riot police.

President Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the killing on the network of self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, something Gulen denies. The Kremlin however has said it is too early to say who stood behind the murder.

Russia has flown a team of investigators to Turkey to help with the investigation.

Today In History

1135 Stephen of Blois is crowned the king of England.

1775 Esek Hopkins takes command of the Continental Navy — a total of seven ships.

1807 Congress passes the Embargo Act, which halts all trading completely. It is hoped that the act will keep the United States out of the European Wars.

1829 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opens the first passenger railway line.

1918 The last of the food restrictions, enforced because of the shortages during World War I, are lifted.

1929 Soviet troops leave Manchuria after a truce is reached with the Chinese over the Eastern Railway dispute.

1941 Japanese troops make an amphibious landing on the coast of Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, the Philippines.

1942 The Soviets drive German troops back 15 miles at the Don River.

1944 During the Battle of the Bulge, General Anthony McAuliffe responds to a German surrender request with a one word answer: “Nuts!”

1945 The United States recognizes Tito’s government in Yugoslavia.

Born on December 22

1856 Frank Kellogg, U.S. Secretary of State who tried to outlaw war with the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

1858 Giacomo Puccini, Italian operatic composer best known for Madam Butterfly.

1883 Arthur Wergs Mitchell, first African-American to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

1912 Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, wife of US President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

1921 Hawkshaw Hawkins (Harold Hawkins), country singer; he died along with country stars Patsy Cline and Cowboy Copas when the small plane that was carrying them crashed in 1963.

1945 Diane Sawyer, journalist; anchor of ABC World News.

1949 Robin and Maurice Gibb, singers, songwriters; co-founders of the Bee Gees band.

1946 Rick Nielsen, musician, vocalist, primary songwriter of the band Cheap Trick.

1951 Charles de Lint, author; helped popularize the urban fantasy genre; received World Fantasy Award (2000) for the collection Moonlight and Vines.