Russian Federation accuses Turkish president of buying oil from Islamic State

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of profiting from illegal shipments of oil by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group in Syria.

“The main consumer of oil stolen from legitimate owners in Syria and Iraq is Turkey”.

“We are absolutely convinced… that the final destination of the stolen oil is Turkey”, said Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov to journalists in Moscow.

Antonov also drew attention to the fact that the son of the Turkish President heads one of the largest energy companies, whereas Erdogan’s son-in-law serves as the Minister for Energy. “The top political leadership of the country, President Erdogan and his family, is involved in this criminal business”.

Mr Putin has said Turkey shot down the jet to protect supplies of oil from ISIS, a claim that Mr Erdogan dismisses as “slander”. He added that he did not want relations with Russian Federation to deteriorate further.

The harsh words are the latest in a heated spat that began when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet destined for Syria last week, claiming it violated Turkish airspace.

Russian Federation said it was producing only “part of the evidence” for now and did not provide direct proof of their claim that Mr Erdogan and family were involved.

He said the Government is taking active steps to prevent fuel smuggling, and he challenged anyone who accused his government of collaborating with ISIS to prove their allegations.

“The income of this terrorist organization was about $3 million per day”.

The allegations are serious, Corey says: “Russia claims that ISIS makes about $2 billion a year from smuggled oil”.

Separately, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he was “prepared to expand” the role of special operations troops fighting IS in Syria and Iraq where the jihadist group has seized huge swathes of territory and lucrative oil fields it uses to fund its deadly activities.

“It is our obligation…from whatever direction threats should come, we have to take it jointly and with solidarity”, he said.

Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad says Russia’s involvement in his country’s war has led to significant changes, including the “shrinking” of the Islamic State (IS) group.

But the defence ministry accusations against Erdogan are the first implicating the Turkish leader directly, as the Kremlin refuses to let the pressure drop after slapping economic sanctions on Ankara.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorists have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq and Syria, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians in the areas under their control.