BOGOTA (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault condemned the "despicable" killing of Russia's ambassador to Turkey on Monday (Dec 19).

"We are engaged in a terrible cycle that must lead us, wherever we can, to fight terrorism in all its forms but also to work through negotiation to create the conditions for a lasting peace," Ayrault said during a visit to the Colombian capital Bogota.

"In the name of France, I must condemn with the greatest possible force this despicable act.

"I express my solidarity with Russia, but also Turkey, which is itself a victim of terrorism," he added.

His Colombian counterpart, Maria Angela Holguin, also condemned the "terrorist act." "The world is arriving at a point where there is nowhere safe," she said.

A Turkish policeman shouting "Aleppo" and "revenge" shot dead ambassador Andrei Karlov at an art exhibition in Ankara.

Russia, the Syrian regime's main ally in a nearly six-year war, has helped President Bashar al-Assad's forces to retake the battleground city of Aleppo from rebels.