Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a memorial ceremony held for Russia's ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, who was shot dead by an off-duty policeman while delivering a speech in an Ankara art gallery on December 19, in Moscow, Russia. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Nikolskyi via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey won’t hurt Russia’s relations with Ankara, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Speaking at an annual news conference, Putin said the murder of Andrei Karlov was an attempt to spoil relations between Moscow and Ankara.

Karlov was shot in the back and killed as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Dec. 20.