The Russian Defense Ministry held a briefing, on Wednesday, during which it provided satellite images showing oil trucks amassing at the Turkish-Syrian border as proof of active operations to smuggle oil in Turkey.
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But on Thursday, without specifying how, Putin made clear Moscow planned to go much further, using strong rhetoric which underscored the continued depth of his anger towards Ankara over the November 24 incident.
“Reunification of Crimea with Russian Federation proved that we are the nation, united by common values and goals”, Putin said. But if people think that after carrying out a cynical war crime, killing our people, they’ll get away with a tomato ban or some limits in the construction sector, they’re very wrong.
“The main consumer of this oil stolen from its legitimate owners Syria and Iraq is Turkey”, deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov told journalists.
Putin didn’t address a peace process in Syria in his Thursday’s 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.
Independent researcher and political commentator Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich seized on the subject of state support for Daesh, saying “there is no worldwide coalition” fighting the illicit oil trade.
He said he was making a clear distinction between the Turkish leadership and Russia’s “many longstanding and reliable friends in Turkey”.
With tensions continuing, the two countries have suspended talks on their joint TurkStream project to pipe gas from Russian Federation to Turkey and southern Europe. “They earn around $2 billion every year, spending these funds on recruiting gunmen around the world and providing them with weapons, equipment and armament”, he added.
Mr Erdogan on Wednesday called Russia’s response “disproportional” and said Turkey would take their “own measures” if they continued, without specifying what they would be.
“Russia’s Sovietic stance – that we thought it had forgotten – is coming back bit-by-bit”, he said.
The Kremlin dismissed these claims as “rubbish” and insists the aircraft had stayed in Syrian airspace, from where it is carrying out airstrikes.
While Turkey and Russian Federation continued to wrangle, the body of a pilot killed when the jet was blown out of the sky was buried in his hometown some 360 kilometres south of Moscow.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu were expected to meet briefly in Belgrade, Serbia, on the sidelines of of an Organisation for Security and Co-operation meeting.
Turkish daily, Hurriyet, reported today that Erdogan has said to reporters en route to Qatar, that Putin used to call him once “brave and bold”, before the shooting of the Russian plane by the Turkish forces.
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“Turkey has not lost its moral values as to buy oil from a terror organization…”
