The Russian president leader denounced Ankara’s downing of the jet as a “treacherous war crime” and claimed Turkey was responsible for the “murder of our people”.
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An Islamic State oil convoy was completely destroyed by a Russian air strike in Syria – just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Turkey was buying it from Islamists.
The shooting down of the jet by the Turkish air force on Tuesday was one of the most serious clashes between a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member and Russian Federation, and further complicated worldwide efforts to battle Islamic State militants.
A simmering pro-Russian separatist rebellion in Ukraine’s two eastern-most regions has left relations between Moscow and its neighbour at an all-time low.
In a state of the nation speech, broadcast live on Russian television, he said that “if anyone thinks Russia’s reaction will be limited to trade sanctions, they are deeply mistaken”.
“The oil is being consumed nearly entirely inside areas of control of Syria and trading with the regime” of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the official said, adding, “ISIL is selling it into the economy”.
In a briefing in Moscow earlier Wednesday, Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov called IS the “absolute leader” in global terrorism, and said terrorists in Syria earn around $2 billion a year from the illegal extraction of oil, which they use to recruit and arm terrorists “around the world”.
Moscow responded to the downing with sanctions against Turkey, restricting food imports, construction projects and visa-free travel.
Russian military officials claimed Wednesday to have “hard evidence” of Turkish oil trade with terrorist groups, the state-run news website Sputniknews reported.
Turkish planes shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane over Syria last Tuesday, arguing that it had entered Turkish airspace despite being warned about doing so ten times. Cavusoglu said that “it would be unrealistic to say that the problem has been overcome”, but added that “our hope is that they avoid making unfounded claims”.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan immediately denied the accusation and has pledged to step down if Moscow proves its accusations.
Erdogan sought a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a climate change conference in Paris last week, but was snubbed.
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The Russian government has released undated satellite imagery which supposedly proves Turkish involvement in the ISIS oil smuggling operation. “Moreover, there were no insignia on it”, Davutoglu said. “Let me say it. George Haswani, holder of a Russian passport and a Syrian national, is one of the biggest merchants in this business”, Erdogan said.
