Russian diplomat ‘found dead from gunshot wounds’ at his home just hours after ambassador was gunned down at art exhibition
Russian diplomat Petr Polshikov was reportedly discovered with a bullet wound to his head at his flat in Moscow
A HIGH-ranking Russian diplomat has been found dead from gun shot wounds in Moscow, it is reported.
Petr Polshikov, 56, was found with a bullet wound to his head at his home in Moscow's Balaklavsky Prospekt, according to local media.
Footage of the crime scene shown on came just hours after news broke of the assassination of Russian ambassador to Ankara, Andrey Karlov in the Turkish capital Ankara.
Karlov was shot in the back at an art gallery by an off-duty cop who shouted out “God is great” and “Don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria" as he fired.
Mevlut Mert Altinta, a 22-year-old, Turkish policeman fired at least eight times as Mr Karlov gave a speech before he died after a 15-minute shootout with police.
In Polshikov' shooting, two empty bullet shells were found in his flat.
A gun was also discovered under the sink in the bathroom.
The circumstances of the shooting remained unclear, and it is understood police are examining all possible theories as to his death.
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The diplomat's wife was reportedly in the flat at the time of the shooting and is safe.
Polshikov was believed to be a senior figure in the Latin American department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Some reports said that the diplomat had left the Foreign Ministry but it was unclear if he worked for any other branch of the Russian government.
He had served previously at the Russian embassy in Bolivia.
It comes as the assassination of Mr Karlov has been "blamed" on UK by an ultra-nationalist leader who claims "the West is trying to embroil us".
Vladimir Zhirinovsky appeared to blame Britain as he claimed the assassination was intended to stop an upcoming visit by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Moscow in order to seal closer ties with Putin.
He said: “The West is trying to embroil us. All conflicts were inspired by Britain.
“This is done deliberately to frustrate Erdogan’s visit. For sure sure, now, the visit will be postponed.”
Mr Karlov’s assassination came on the day the UN Security Council unanimously called for all parties to observe the evacuation of the last rebel-held enclave in the city.
It was also just over a year since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on its border with Syria.
Turkey has itself been rocked by recent terror attacks.
On Saturday a car bomb near a bus in Kayserion killed 13 soldiers and wounding 55.
A week ago 44 people including 37 police officers were killed in bombings in Istanbul.
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