THE Russian Consul General in Edinburgh has spoken of a "dear friend, a kind man, and distinguished diplomat cowardly gunned in the back" in a moving and resolute tribute to murdered Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov.
Consul General Andrey Pritsepov described Mr Karlov, former head of the consular department, as a man of peace who was dedicated to diplomatic service.
He said: "It is a very dark moment for us.
"It is a shock.
"We all knew him.
"His friends and colleagues have a huge respect for him.
"He was a very skilful diplomat with a tremendous sense of humanity."
He said Mr Karlov had "perished in the line of duty, serving his country", adding: "Hence pass on the best."
Mr Pritsepov said: "His cause and the loving memory of him will live on in our hearts.
"Generations of future Russian diplomats will look up to him.
"We will not be broken by terror. In the face of this tragedy, Russia will stay resolved in the battle against the destructive forces of evil."
Mr Karlov, who was married to Marina and had a son, had the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and worked on a number of senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and Russia, as well as foreign missions.
He was Ambassador at the Embassy of the USSR to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was Director General for Consular Affairs and in 2013 became Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Turkey.
Mr Karlov had the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Russian officials investigating the assassination of their ambassador to Turkey have vowed that the killing would not disrupt efforts to repair the two countries' relationship.
Inquiries are focusing on whether the man who shot Mr Karlov at a photo exhibition launch in the Turkish capital Ankara was a "lone wolf" gunman, or part of a wider conspiracy.
Ankara and Moscow back opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.
Mr Karlov was shot dead on Monday by a Turkish policeman who shouted slogans about Aleppo, the Syrian city where Russian bombardments have targeted rebel factions.
The gunman, identified as Mevlut Mert Altintas, 22, and a member of Ankara's riot police squad, was later killed in a shoot-out with police.
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