Erdogan neck-deep in ISIS oil business – Russia

The Russian government presented Wednesday what it says is proof that the Islamic State group’s oil has been ending up in Turkish refineries, accusing Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his family of benefiting from the illegal smuggling of the Syrian and Iraqi oil.

“We know for example who in Turkey fills their pockets and allows terrorists to make money from the stolen oil in Syria”, Mr Putin said.

NPR’s Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow that at a news conference, Russian military officials offered what they called evidence of oil smuggled to Turkey from ISIS-controlled fields in Syria.

Antonov pointed the finger at the recent appointment of Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak as energy minister and alleged that the president’s son runs one of the country’s main energy companies.

“According to inbound data, top Turkish leadership is involved in this criminal business, including president Erdogan and his family”.

The officials did not specify what direct evidence they had of the involvement of Erdogan and his family, an allegation that the Turkish president has vehemently denied.

Putin said it was “the ruling elite” in Turkey who had committed the “betrayal” of shooting down a Russian warplane and supporting IS, not the Turkish people.

He said that Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet at the border with Syria was a “treacherous war crime”.

Putin said that Russian Federation will take other retaliatory moves against Turkey, but will not engage in saber rattling.

President Putin also said that Russian Federation does not equal current Turkish leadership and the Turkish nation. “They went into someone else’s country, they are robbing it without compunction”, Antonov said. “Turkey resells this oil”.

“Turkey has not lost its moral values to the extent of purchasing oil from a terror organization”, he added.

The Turkish president has once again refuted all claims Wednesday that Turkey has been purchasing oil from Daesh, Anadolu agency reported.

Erdoğan earlier rejected Russian claims that he and his family are profiting from trade in oil with the ISIL group.

“It’s hard not to notice them”, Rudskoy said of the lines of trucks shown on satellite images.

“We will not be evading this contact”, Lavrov said during a visit to Cyprus. “These [airstrikes] helped reduce the trade of the oil illegally extracted on the Syrian territory by nearly 50 per cent”, he said. One of the jet’s pilots was killed, as well as a Russian Marine sent to rescue him.

Putin, whose administration has already announced sanctions against Ankara, including a ban on the import of some Turkish foods and reintroducing visas for visitors from the country, insisted Turkey would be made to regret its actions.