Turkish authorities comment on attack on Belarusian diplomat

Belarusian diplomat Alyaksandr Pahanshau who was shot at in Ankara has undergone an operation and is in a serious condition, STV reports quoting the spokesman for the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Anatol Hlaz.  The operation was conducted last night and the diplomat is in satisfactory condition – he may be allowed to leave the resuscitation unit on Tuesday, Turkish Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced. “Any operation is a risk… We are hoping that he will get better,” ria.ru quotes Turkey's diplomacy chief as saying.
 

The incident occurred on the evening of 24 July. Pahanshau is an adviser responsible for administrative issues at the Belarusian Embassy to Turkey. A retired soldier shot at him 5 or 6 times when Pahanshau was walking with his son in a street. The officer described by officials as 'mentally unstable' later committed suicide. The diplomat’s son was not injured.

The attack might have been the result of a quarrel (the shooter was the Belarusian’s neighbor, some sources report). “There is no political motive behind the attack,” Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said. “The MFA will comment on the attack later. It is essential to help the diplomat recover now.” Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan is keeping an eye on the situation, Çavuşoğlu stressed.