Security Council condemns ‘reprehensible’ terrorist attack in Istanbul

The Security Council has strongly condemned yesterday’s terrorist attack on Turkish police protecting the United States Consulate General in Istanbul, which caused death and injury to Turkish police personnel.

While no staff inside the Consulate sustained injuries, three policemen and three of the attackers were killed in Wednesday’s incident.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and the Governments of Turkey and the United States,” Ambassador Le Luong Minh of Viet Nam, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for July, said in a statement read out to the press.

The Council also underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this “reprehensible act of terrorism” to justice, and urged all States to cooperate actively with the Turkish authorities to this end.

“All acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation,” the statement added.