President Vladimir Putin is to attend the funeral of murdered Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov, the Kremlin announced Wednesday.
The diplomat’s body was flown from the Turkish capital Ankara to Moscow Tuesday night. His funeral is planned for Thursday.
Read more from The Moscow Times: Russia's Ambassador to Turkey Assassinated in Ankara
The president has rescheduled his annual press conference in order to take part in the ceremonies, Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov announced on Wednesday morning.
The press conference will now take place at noon on Friday, Dec. 23.
Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was assassinated in an Ankara art gallery on Monday evening. His killer, a 22-year-old former policeman, was shot by a Turkish policeman.
Putin called the attack “a provocation” designed to derail the peace process in Syria and the normalization of bilateral relations between Russia and Turkey.
“There can be only one response: intensifying our fight against terror,” the Russian president said on Russian television. “And the bandits will feel it.”
Read more from The Moscow Times: Russia’s Foreign Ministry Claims Assassinated Ambassador Contacted Syrian Opposition
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