Erdogan responded by accusing Russian Federation of “slander”.
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Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov said Turkey was the biggest buyer of “stolen” oil from Syria and Iraq. “According to information we’ve received, the senior political leadership of the country – President Erdogan and his family – are involved in this criminal business”, he was reported as saying by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of dire consequences for Russian-Turkish relations for the November 24 downing of the warplane.
Mr Erdogan reacted with fury to the claims, describing them as “slander” and saying that Turkey had not lost its moral compass to such a degree that it would buy oil from Isil. “But those who make the claim must also give up their seat if they can’t prove it”.
Russian military chiefs have publicly accused the Turkish government of funnelling millions of dollars in illicit oil revenues to Isil terrorists in Syria and Iraq, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two countries. “We know the price of Erdogan’s words …”
“What a fantastic family business”, he said, claiming that “terrorists” in Syria make some $2 billion (1.9 billion euros) each year out of the illegal oil trade. Moscow has halted Turkish food imports, told Russian tour operators to stop offering travel packages to Turkey, and placed restrictions on Turkish companies operating in Russia. “They went into someone else’s country, they are robbing it without compunction”, Antonov said.
“Maybe I’m being too blunt, but one can only entrust control over this thieving business to one’s closest associates”.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) presented “evidence” on Wednesday that ISIS had been smuggling oil onto Turkish soil to be purchased by Turkey’s president “and his family”.
The Defense Ministry accusations against Erdogan are the first implicating the Turkish strongman directly as the Kremlin refuses to let the pressure drop after slapping economic sanctions on Ankara.
President Erdogan denies that Turkey procures oil from anything other than legitimate sources. Toner used an alternate acronym for the militant group.
Lt.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military’s General Staff said Russian airstrikes on the IS oil infrastructure in Syria had halved the militants’ profits.
The Russian government has released undated satellite imagery which supposedly proves Turkish involvement in the ISIS oil smuggling operation.
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The defence ministry said its surveillance revealed hundreds of tanker trucks gathering at Islamic State-controlled sites in Iraq and Syria to load up with oil, and it questioned why the US-led coalition was not launching more air strikes on them.
