Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been gunned down while speaking at an art exhibition in the Turkish capital, Sky News quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying on Monday.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the announcement in a live televised statement.

She said: "Today in Ankara, as a result of an attack, the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Turkey, Andrey Gennadyevich Karlov, received a wound from which he died.

"We regard this as a terrorist act.

"The murderers will be punished."

The 62-year-old ambassador had been attending an art exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Centre in the Cankaya area of Ankara, along with other dignitaries and media.

The gunman was Mevlut Mert Altintas, a 22-year-old who had been working for the riot police squad in Ankara for the past two-and-a-half years.

He was off-duty when it is understood he entered the building using his police ID and opened fire on the ambassador as he made a speech.

Source: MENA