Russia Presents Detailed Evidence Of ISIL-Turkey Oil Trade
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia’s Defense Ministry provided evidence showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Daesh-held territory.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov during a briefing in Moscow on Wednesday provided satellite images that show Daesh (ISIL) illegal oil smuggling through the Turkish-Syrian border. The ministry has presented data on the infrastructure of the illegal oil trade.
He said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are involved in the illegal deliveries of oil from Daesh, Sputnik News reported.
“Revenues from the sale of oil are one of the most important sources of activity by terrorists in Syria. They earn around $2 billion annually, spending these funds on hiring militants from around the world and equipping them with weapons, equipment, and arms,” Antonov said.
He said the main consumer of the illegal oil deliveries from Syria and Iraq is Turkey.
“The main consumer of this oil stolen from the legal owners in Syria and Iraq is Turkey. According to available information, this illegal business includes the upper political leadership of the country, President Erdogan and his family,” Antonov added.
During the brifing, the ministry has space surveillance photographs demonstrating that Daesh currently transports up to 200,000 barrels of oil for processing to third-party countries including Turkey.
Denial of Guilt
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not admit to profiting from oil deals with terrorists even if his face is “smeared with smuggled oil,” Antonov said.
“None of Turkey’s top leaders, nor Mr Erdogan in particular, will resign or admit anything, even if their faces were smeared in stolen oil.”
He was reiterating earlier remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin about evidence that suggests Erdogan and his family continue to profit from oil deals made with the Daesh terrorist group.
He cited the recent case of two Turkish opposition newspaper editors being charged for “divulging state secrets” as proof of the culture of impunity he claims is pervasive in Turkey’s top political structures.
“We know the price of Erdogan’s words. Turkish journalists caught him lying, revealing Turkey’s delivery of weapons to militants disguised as humanitarian aid. These journalists were imprisoned,” Antonov stressed. “The cynicism of Turkish leadership is limitless.”
The deputy minister clarified that Russia was not seeking Erdogans’ resignation, but instead sought to demonstrate that terrorist oil was being smuggled into Turkey and ultimately cut off the oil supply lines.
“It is up to the people of Turkey to decide. Our purpose is fighting terrorism. Our objective is to shut down the sources of financing of terrorism,” Antonov emphasized.
