BELGRADE, Serbia

Turkish Ambassador Ilhan Saygili praised Serbia on Wednesday for preventing the presence of the FETO terror network in the country and stressed that fighting terrorism requires a united international effort.

“Fighting terrorism is a shared responsibility of all states,” Saygili said during a commemoration in Belgrade marking the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Turkish ambassador Ahmet Galip Balkar.

Balkar was killed in 1983 in an armed attack carried out by members of the Armenian militant group, the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA).

Speaking at the ceremony, Saygili said Türkiye has suffered numerous attacks by terrorist organizations and noted that ASALA militants killed 31 Turkish diplomats and members of their families in attacks abroad.

“We are grateful to Serbia for its support in the fight against terrorist organizations. Serbia is a country in the Balkans that has not allowed the terrorist organization FETO to find refuge on its territory,” he said.

The commemoration was held at a monument in Belgrade’s Tasmajdan Park dedicated to Balkar.

The ceremony was attended by representatives of diplomatic missions as well as Serbian Foreign Ministry official Dragan Petrovic, head of the department for neighboring countries and Southeast Europe.

Participants also paid tribute to Serbian student Zeljko Milivojevic, who was killed in the attack while trying to stop the gunmen, as well as to a retired colonel and the ambassador’s driver, who were seriously wounded.

Balkar was attacked while traveling to a meeting in Belgrade when gunmen opened fire on his car at a traffic light in what was then General Zhdanov Street, now Resavska Street. He died two days later from his injuries.

Two ASALA militants, Kirkor Levonyan and Raffi Aleksandr, were later arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The Turkish Embassy in Belgrade maintains a memorial section dedicated to Balkar, displaying his desk, portrait, calendar, and newspaper reports about the assassination.

Former Turkish ambassador to Serbia Tanju Bilgic published a book about Balkar two years ago, describing him as a “bright star of Turkish diplomacy.”