A picture taken on May 5, 2017 shows the leading Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic during an interview for the AFP in his office in north Mitrovica. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the assassination of Kosovo Serb politician Oliver Ivanovic on Tuesday.

"This form of political point-scoring is fraught with an increase in an atmosphere of terror and a relapse of the interethnic conflict in the region," it said in a statement.

The ministry called on all international organizations to take comprehensive measures to prevent possible incidents in Kosovo.

Moscow expects relevant departments to conduct a thorough investigation of the murder and identify the perpetrators who will bear the punishment they deserve, the statement said.

Ivanovic, 64, one of the leaders of Serbs living in Kosovo, was shot dead in the city of Mitrovica earlier in the day.

The news of the assassination instantly shook Serbia, which considers Kosovo as its autonomous province and does not recognize its independence unilaterally declared in 2008.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council and said that his country will take all measures to find the killers.