Turkish FM unveils plaque for murdered envoy in Serbia

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu inaugurated a monument Tuesday for Ankara’s Belgrade ambassador who was assassinated 36 years ago.

Along with his Serbian counterpart, Cavusoglu participated in the unveiling of the plaque ceremony in memory of Ahmet Galip Balkar who was killed near the embassy building in the Serbian capital.

"I thank Serbia for their efforts in the fight against terrorism. Turkey also continues to combat all forms of terrorism," said Cavusoglu with the plaque over his shoulders.

Ivica Dacic stressed that the memory of Balkar will always be alive. "Serbia condemns the acts of terrorism aimed at peace and stability," he said.

Armenian terror groups killed 31 Turkish diplomats across the world between 1973 and 1986, including Balkar.

Two members of the ASALA terror group attacked Balkar with automatic weapons near the Turkish embassy March 9, 1983.

The ambassador was seriously injured in the attack and died two days later.
A Yugoslav student who was hit by a bullet during the attack, also died.

Kirkor Levonyan and Raffi Aleksandr were arrested March 9, 1984, and each were sentenced to 20 years in prison.