CICA countries strongly condemn assassination of Russian ambassador to Turkey

Member states of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Saturday strongly condemned the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, requiring a thorough investigation.

"We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Ankara, Turkey, on Dec. 19, which resulted in the assassination of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation," foreign ministers of CICA member states said in a statement.

They called for bringing the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of the terrorist attack to justice.

"We reaffirm that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed," they said in the statement.

The ministers reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

They stressed that the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic agents and consular officers and the obligations, including under the related Vienna conventions, to take proper steps to prevent any attack on diplomats.

The CICA was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultation on security issues in Asia. It has 26 member countries, including China, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Thailand. It also includes other countries and international organizations as observers. Endi