Photo: AP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members are directly involved in illegal oil deliveries from Islamic State (IS)Â oil fields in Syria, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members are directly involved in illegal oil deliveries from oil fields belonging to IS in Syria, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
âRevenues 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,â Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said during a briefing in Moscow.
The ministry provided photographs of columns of oil fuel tankers on the Turkish-Syrian border. Fuel tankers with oil freely cross the border between Turkey and Iraq, according to Russia’s General Staff.
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,â Antonov added.
These oil revenues are used not only to enrich the Turkish leadership but to arm terrorists as well, the General Staff stated.
Oil from IS-controlled areas in Syria is shipped to refineries in third countries after being transported to Turkey, the head of the Russian General Staffâs operative command said Wednesday.
“Space reconnaissance has reliably showed that after crossing the border, tank trucks carrying oil head to the ports of Dortyol and Iskenderun,” Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy told reporters.
Russian deputy defense minister said that Russia will continue to provide facts that Turkey steals from its neighbors, adding that it’s a surprise no one in the West ever noticed that Erdogan’s son is the owner of one of the largest energy companies, while the president’s son-in-law was appointed energy minister.
Russian Defense Ministry’s information on IS oil trade will be published online.
Moscow calls on Ankara to provide access to places where, according to Russian data, IS oil trade centers are located, Antonov said.
“I am certain that there will be claims that everything you’ve seen here now is false. Well, if there are no such things, they [Turkey] should grant access to the places we showed journalists today,” Antonov said after presenting satellite data and photos said to prove Turkey’s involvement in illegal IS oil trade.