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Turkey heavily damaged by Russia’s proof: Analyst

Thursday, 03 December 2015 9:27 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 03 December 2015 9:28 AM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (AFP photo)

Press TV has interviewed James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst in Washington DC, about Russia saying it is in possession of evidence showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are involved in the illegal smuggling of oil from territories held by Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Russia has come out saying they have proof; if their proof is not solid enough, they will look embarrassed. I am guessing the proof that they have is solid enough to implicate Turkey. How severely would Turkey be damaged from this?

Jatras: I think Turkey is being quite heavily damaged by this. Let’s remember that Mr. Erdogan said he will resign if it was proved that ISIS (Daesh) oil was being exported through Turkey and Turkey was complicit. So I guess we can all wait for Mr. Erdogan’s resignation because I think it is being proved.

Let’s remember that unlike some of the rather cartoonish proof that we have seen on other issues like, for example, the Russian presence in eastern Ukraine from Western powers which look like essentially drawing mock-ups, the Russians are releasing very specific intelligence and satellite data here showing where these trucks are going. They are going to Turkey, they are not being interdicted by the Turks and the Turks are clearly complicit here.

Press TV: It is one thing for Erdogan to be accused. But Erdogan might come back and say there are some people under him perhaps - if he was to even accept this allegation - that are benefiting from this. Wouldn’t that still put Turkey and Erdogan in the guilty frame?

Jatras: Well, Erdogan can say that, but we have a wonderful word in English to describe that: the word is “lying”. He is lying and I think everybody knows that he is lying; that if Turkey was not profiting from this oil trade and indeed Bilal Erdogan, the president’s son, was not profiting and the companies he is associated with, this would have been cut off long ago. This also of course relates to the transit of fighters across the Turkey-Syria border that are essential to maintaining not only ISIS but al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham and other terrorist groups.

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