Turkish interior minister said that the assassination of Andrey Karlov, the Russian ambassador to Ankara, was a meticulously planned and premeditated murder and that the crime was not a result of the killer's initiative or personal vengeance.

The ambassador was shot dead as he was delivering his speech at the opening of an exhibition dubbed as "Russia in the Eyes of Turks" at an art gallery in Turkey's capital Ankara on Monday.

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Initially, top Turkish government officials have been hasty to accuse the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) of executing Karlov's assassination in an apparent move to jeopardize ties between Russia and Turkey.

However, Konstantin Kosachev, the head of Russia's Upper House International Relations Committee, said that it is too early to make conclusions, adding that Russia's goal "is to find out the truth, not use the incident for some political gain."

On Saturday, Turkey's interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, once again revived the theory that the Russian ambassador's assassin, Melvut Mert Altintas, was linked to FETO.

"At this stage, we have clearly defined a relationship with the terrorist Fethullah Gulen movement," the minister said, adding that the assassination was clearly planned. The minister revealed that investigators are trying to trace Altinta's link to terrorist organizations both inside and outside the country.

Earlier this week, Turkish media reported that when the police raided on Altinta's house, they found books related to FETO and Al-Qaeda. According to the assassin's father Israfil Altintas, his son's behavior changed after he was befriended by a man identified as Sercan B at the police academy.

The FETO group is led by American-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government believed that the group was behind the failed coup attempt on July I5. The Turkish government also claimed that the group has extensive contacts in the country's military, police, and judiciary.

TagsRussia, Turkey