Russian lawmakers call for tighter security after killing

Lawmakers in Russia called for tighter security for diplomats Wednesday after the assassination of the country’s ambassador to Turkey.

The State Duma — the lower chamber of Parliament —voted on a resolution that urged authorities to take more steps to protect envoys, the Associated Press reported.

The body of Andrei Karlov was returned to Moscow late Tuesday. A ceremony attended by dignataries and Marina Davydova Karlova, Karlov’s widow, was held in Ankara before the plane departed.

Karlov was shot multiple times by a Turkish police officer Monday while making a speech at an art gallery in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The gunman, Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, 22, shouted slogans related to the Syrian conflict before he was shot and killed by police.

Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that followers of Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Turkish cleric, were behind the killing, the semi-official Anadolu news agency reported.

John Kirby, Kerry's spokesman, said claims of American involvement or support of the assassination were ludicrous.

"Any notion that the United States was in any way supportive of this or behind this or even indirectly involved is absolutely ridiculous," he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that “We shouldn’t rush with any theories before the investigators establish who were behind the assassination of our ambassador.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames Gülen, who has been living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, for a failed coup in July that left 290 people dead and thousands arrested.

Investigators from Russia have travelled to Turkey to investigate the death. Peskov said he expects the attack will bring Turkey and Russia closer together.

"Most likely the murder was aiming to derail the efforts toward a peaceful Syrian resolution," Peskov said. "However, it will not impede this process in any way."

Peskov said the investigators will determine whether Altıntaş acted alone or was part of a more complex conspiracy. Turkish authorities have detained seven people, including six family members and a roommate of Altıntaş.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a street near the Russian Embassy will be renamed for Karlov. He said that Turkey and Russia will work together on the investigation.

Contributing: John Bacon