The assassination took place after a long period of highly polarized and incited political atmosphere in Turkey, and after several days of protests by Islamist elements of the Turkish public against Russian involvement in the Syrian Civil War and the battle over Aleppo, as well as recent negotiations between Russian and Turkish governments for a ceasefire. The Russian president Vladimir Putin described the assassination as an attempt to damage Turkish–Russian ties. Both Turkish and Russian officials declared the Gülen movement to be responsible for the assassination. Meanwhile the Army of Conquest, which includes the Al-Nusra Front, claimed responsibility for the assassination, according to Russian News Agency TASS."Media: Jaish al-Fatah claims responsibility for murder of Russian ambassador". Russian News Agency TASS. 21 December 2016.
