Turkey to prevent deterioration of relations with Russia

President Erdogan made the remarks during a ceremony of opening of the Eurasia Tunnel (Avrasya Tüneli), crossing the Bosporus Strait undersea, in Istanbul Dec. 20.

He added that the attack on Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov is a tragic incident.

"I expressed my condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin during yesterday’s telephone conversation,” he said. "We share the view that this incident is an open provocation against the Turkey-Russia relations. Moscow and Ankara have established a joint commission to investigate the incident.”

Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov died after being fatally wounded in an armed assault in Ankara on Dec. 19.