In this year’s annual State of the Nation address, Putin defended his decision to start dropping bombs in Syria in late September, claiming that Russian Federation must fight terrorism overseas to prevent it from penetrating Russia’s borders.
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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dismissed Russian allegations that Turkey was buying oil from ISIS as “Soviet-style propaganda” on Thursday and said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member was doing all it could to secure its border with Syria.
Russia has implemented a series of economic sanctions against Turkey, including banning fruit and vegetable imports and ordering Russian tour operators not to send tourists to the country.
“If somebody thought that after committing a treacherous war crime – the killing of our people – it would be possible to get away with mere restrictions on the trade of tomatoes, or some other restrictions… then they are grossly mistaken”, Putin said.
Delegates watch as Putin explains Russian Federation is “not planning to engage in military sabre-rattling” against Turkey. “We know what needs to be done”.
Without naming the United States, he accused Washington for turning Iraq, Syria and Libya into a “zone of chaos and anarchy threatening the entire world” by supporting change of regimes in those countries.
The two countries have been locked in a furious war of words over Turkey’s downing of a Russian plane along its border with Syria on 24 November.
Turkey would have cause to regret its actions “more than once”, he said, promising Russia’s retaliatory actions would be neither hysterical nor unsafe.
“We know who in Turkey is filling their pockets and allowing terrorists to profit from oil robbed from Syria”.
“We will not forget this aid to terrorists”.
Now the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD)has released evidence which it alleges reveals a vast illegal oil trade by ISIS, also known Daesh.
“I do not believe there is significant smuggling between ISIL-controlled areas and Turkey of oil of any significant volume”, said Amos Hochstein, the special envoy and coordinator for global energy affairs.
Tensions continue to rise between Turkey and Russian Federation as both sides increase their military power at the Turkish-Syrian border. “And in what is a hard time for Russian Federation, when it was under European sanctions – we were not involved in these either”, Davutoglu said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to hold talks later Thursday with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on the sidelines of a conference in Belgrade. The president also hit at Turkey over its shooting down of a Russian jet, highlighted what he said was proof of Russia’s economy pulling out of recession and touched again on the annexation of Crimea.
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Turkey is alleged to be the main buyer of smuggled oil coming from Iraq and Syria which funds ISIS bid to take over the Middle East and create an dictatorial empire on the edge of Europe.
