Belarusian diplomat shot over dispute: Turkish FM

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday that an attack earlier in the day on a Belarusian diplomat was not politically motivated.

The wounding of Alexander Poganshev, the head of administrative affairs at the Belarus Embassy, was an “ordinary crime”, said Cavusoglu, according to the Interior Ministry.

It was not politically motivated, he told reporters after visiting the hospital where Poganshev was being treated.

Cavusoglu said a neighbor shot Poganshev as a result of a personal dispute between them. The neighbor, who was a retired military officer, committed suicide at the scene after the shooting. The attack took place in Ankara’s OR-AN district.

Cavusoglu added that he spoke to his Belarusian counterpart, Vladimir Makei, by phone and informed him that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also closely following the situation.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar