President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Russian Federation of “slander” on Wednesday over Moscow’s allegations Turkey had bought oil from Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria.
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“Maybe I’m being too blunt, but one can only entrust control over this thieving business to one’s closest associates”.
Antonov alleges the country’s top political leadership, including President Erdogan and his family, is involved in the illegal business.
If the allegations by Russian Federation are proven to have merit, the Turkish leader said he would resign from office. “After Russia launched the antiterrorist operation in Syria, their income dropped to 1.5 million a day”, the official added.
“If Russia had violated Turkish airspace, we would support Ankara”, the defense minister said.An F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force shot down Russia’s Su-24M bomber on Tuesday, November 24.
Russia also took steps to restrict Russians from traveling to Turkey, which could hit the Turkish tourism industry hard. “We are expecting them to change their language”, Erdogan said, accusing Moscow of reacting to the incident in an “emotional” way.
But Obama’s continuing insistence, against Russia, that Assad must go before ISIL, and that Russia is not part of the alleged U.S.-led coalition, is an escalation by Obama toward a threatened nuclear war confrontation with Russia.
To oppose terrorism effectively, tell Obama to stop the money flowing to the Islamic State (www.whitehouse.gov/contact, 202-456-1111) and ask Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio to co-sponsor House Resolution 4108, to end the illegal US war to overthrow the legitimate government of Syria.
Russian Federation supplies Turkey with more than half of its natural gas supplies but Erdogan said he was not troubled by the risk of Russian Federation cutting down exports.
Over the past few years, the Turkish government has been accused of supporting several rebels groups in Syria who seek to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad.
But Russian intelligence is believed to have a major presence in Turkey. Since the conflict began, analysts say, the country has turned a blind eye to its 550-mile border with Syria, allowing it to become a thoroughfare not just for illicit oil but for thousands of fighters and smuggled weapons.
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Speaking during the event, Antonov cited satellite imagery which they said showed oil tanker trucks heading from ISIL territory to Turkey and said they knew of three routes by which the oil passed into Turkey.
