After the assassination of Andrei Karlov, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Turkey, High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini sent a message to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with the following text:

"I was deeply shocked to hear of the inconceivable attack against Ambassador Andrei Karlov in Ankara this afternoon. Our fullest sympathies are with his family, all his colleagues, and the Russian authorities. The European Union condemns in the strongest possible manner this attack against your country's representative in Turkey. We wish to express our solidarity with Russia in the face of this criminal act of violence."