Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the murder of Russia's ambassador to Turkey was a serious blow to Ankara, RIA news agency reported.

"This is certainly a blow to the country's prestige," Peskov said.

The Kremlin website said President Vladimir Putin posthumously gave the ambassador, Andrei Karlov, the Hero of Russia award, the country's highest military medal.

Karlov was gunned down by an assassin while giving a speech in an art gallery in Ankara on Monday.

Source: MENA