Turkey projects blame for Daesh oil smuggling onto Russia
Turkey has resorted to projection over the smuggling of oil from Daesh-held territories in Iraq, claiming that Russia, which recently provided satellite images to further disclose the issue, was behind the illegal trade.
During a televised address in the capital city of Ankara on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alleged that Ankara had proof Moscow traded oil with Daesh in Syria, warning, “We will reveal it to the world."
"In recent days a fashion led by Russia has emerged. Actually, Russia does not believe this either," Erdogan said, adding that Moscow has to “prove that the Turkish republic buys oil from Daesh, otherwise this is a slander.”
The remarks came one day after Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Moscow was in possession of evidence indicating that the complicity of Turkish president along with his family in the smuggling of oil from territories held by Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
"Turkey is the main consumer of the oil stolen from its rightful owners, Syria and Iraq,” he said, citing photos showing columns of tanker trucks purportedly loading oil at Daesh-controlled installations in the two violence-scarred Middle Eastern states before entering neighboring Turkey.
The Turkish president, however, described Antonov’s comments as “immoral,” reiterating that he would step down if Moscow proved the allegations.
Moscow and Ankara are locked in a war of words since November 24 when Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet inside Syria, claiming that it had entered Turkish airspace, an accusation strongly rejected by Moscow.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that Turkey will regret "more than once" the downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border, stating that Moscow will not turn a blind eye to Ankara's "aiding of terrorists."
In another development on Wednesday, Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoi, the spokesman for Russia’s general staff, said Moscow’s ongoing air campaign against Takfiri elements has targeted Daesh oil infrastructure in Syria and halved the militants' profits.
Russia has been conducting operations on positions held by Takfiri terrorist groups, including Daesh, since September 30 upon a request by the Damascus government.
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