Russia has appointed a new ambassador to Turkey, on Monday, to replace its former envoy Ambassador Andrei Karlov, who was assassinated by an Islamist gunman six months ago.

The new ambassador, Alexei Yerkhov, is a career diplomat who previously headed the Russian Foreign Ministry’s department on mitigating crises.

Yerkhov before his appointment had served as Russia’s consul general in Istanbul for several years.

Karlov was shot dead in December 2016 at an exhibition in Ankara promoting bilateral relations.

The gunman, who was killed by security, shouted Islamist slogans and denounced Russia’s involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Russia and Turkey, which support opposing sides in that war, have been rebuilding their relations over the past year after a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in 2015.

That led to the shattering of diplomatic and economic ties between the countries.

(NAN)