Russian Ambassador to Turkey Assassinated in Ankara

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By Jason Michael

Right now international tensions are at their highest point since the height of the Cold War and the assassination of a Russian ambassador is frightening reminiscent of the killing that brought the world to war in 1914.

With startling parallels with the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the event that ultimately triggered the First World War, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, has been gunned down in Ankara. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to distance his government from the actions of the 22 year old assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas – yet it is clear that this killing has everything to do with the current conflict in Syria where Turkey and Russia are on opposing sides. This event will add to the already existing tensions between the two countries, certainly considering the fact that Turkey has to date brought down at least one Russian fighter jet over northern Syria.

Archduke Ferdinand's cold blooded murder triggered first world war. Russian ambassador's death is very alarming.
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Babar Awan (@BabarAwanPK) December 19, 2016

US and Russian participation in Syria’s so-called civil war has reignited a Cold War standoff, with various alliances forming around the two principle sides in the conflict. It has been probable for some time now that this proxy war would spill out of Syria, and now that it has it has the potential to spark a wider global conflict between the superpowers and their allies. This explains why Erdogan is keen to show Putin that this assassination had nothing to do with the Turkish government, but this has been complicated further by the inconvenient fact that the assassin – a trained body guard – has, on a number of occasions, been part of Erdogan’s own security detail following the recent failed coup in the country.

Syria has become a tinderbox and right now almost anything can become the catalyst for an uncontrollable escalation and spread of the war. It is too early at this point to tell if Altintas has been backed by the Turkish government or not, but if this is the case and Russia gets its hands on credible evidence then it is likely that there will be a swift response. This is dangerous because, of course, Turkey is a US strategic ally and is home to a number of US nuclear missile sites. Any move on Turkey by Putin will give the United States little option but to strike back. This is how global wars begin.

Russian Ambassador Assassinated In Turkey