Moscow announced a halt to talks on a major gas pipeline with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Ankara as Putin fired another salvo in their war of words, while Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan shot back by claiming he had “proof” Russian Federation was involved in illegal oil trading with the Islamic State group.
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With U.S. President Barack Obama’s move to place American fighter jets on the Turkish-Syrian border to “target Russian planes”, the tensions between the U.S. and Russia could spiral into a “devastating nuclear war”, according to a U.S. representative.
Russian Federation has accused Erdogan and his family of personally profiting from the oil trade with IS, which controls a large chunk of Syrian territory including many oil fields. “The terrorists are using these receipts to recruit mercenaries, buy weapons and plan inhuman terrorist attacks”.
Since the incident with the Russian jet, Putin and Erdogan have exchanged numerous accusations, including Putin’s claim that Turkey is helping ISIS in oil smuggling.
Putin didn’t address efforts to start a peace process in Syria in his speech, focusing on the need to pool global efforts in the fight against terrorism following the attacks in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt. The IS has claimed responsibility for both. “The Turkish foreign minister confirmed the approaches publicly expressed by Turkey’s president and prime minister. They’ll regret it. We know what to do”, Putin said, The Moscow Times reports.
Sherko Jawdat, the chairman of the KRG Parliament’s Energy Committee, said on Thursday that the oil tankers shown in the aerial photos and footage presented by Russian Federation as evidence of the alleged trade are in fact carrying oil from the KRG to Ceyhan terminal in southern Turkey.
“We know who… chose to change regimes in those countries and impose their own rules”, Putin said.
The two-day meeting in Belgrade is to focus on terrorism, the migrant surge in Europe and the Ukrainian crisis. high-level European officials joined by the USA secretary of state John Kerry are attending the conference and have said that only a joint global response can be effective in countering the threat.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he offered his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Turkey’s condolences over the death of a Russian pilot.
“Last week alone, up to 2,000 militants, over 120 tons of munitions and 250 automobiles were transferred from Turkey to ISIL and Al-Nusra groups in Syria”, said Mizintsev.
But that might not be working, says Steven Pifer, an expert on Russian Federation at the Brookings Institution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses lawmakers and other officials at the Kremlin in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin branded Turkey’s downing of the Russian warplane as a war crime on Thursday and said Turkey would face further sanctions.
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The economic situation “is hard but not critical”, Putin said, adding that there were “some positive trends”.
