Monday, December 7th, 2015 | Posted by WorldTribune
Russia accuses U.S. of cover-up over ISIL-Turkey oil smuggling
Special to WorldTribune.com
The
United States is involved in a “cover-up” over Turkey’s alleged
smuggling of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil, Russia’s
defense ministry said on Dec. 5.
“When U.S. officials say they
don’t see how the terrorists’ oil is smuggled to Turkey… it smells badly
of a desire to cover up these acts,” the ministry said in a statement
on its Facebook page.
An oil convoy was destroyed when it was hit by a Russian air strike in Syria. /Twitter
ISIL’s
sales of captured oil assets on the black market is credited with
making it the best-funded terror organization in history.
“The
declarations of the Pentagon and the State Department seem like a
theater of the absurd,” the statement said, adding that Washington
should “watch the videos taken by its (own) drones which have recently
been three times as numerous over the Turkey-Syria border and above the
oil zones.”
The
evidence presented by the Russian Defense Ministry will be “partly
ignored and distorted” by Western MSM, says Foreign Affairs Editor Srdja Trifkovic.
“I
think that Erdogan will scream ‘blue murder’ and claim that this is all
a set-up and a reaction to what he calls ‘justified downing of the
Russian plane’. The real issue is what the US will do about this.
Because it is quite obvious the Turkish tail has been wagging the
American dog for far too long,” he said.
“My hunch is
that the US will continue to be reluctant to really do something about
it. They have had a chance to do so for 15 months prior to the beginning
of the Russian air strikes on September, 25. The question of all
questions is whether Erdogan will finally be pressed by his Western
partners to shape up and to act like a civilized person, which
unfortunately he is not,” Trifkovic told RT.
Turkish leadership, including Erdogan & his family are involved in ISIS oil trade, Russian MoD announced on Wednesday, showcasing satellites images and footage from oil facilities and Syrian-Turkish border.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
Russia presents proof of Turkey’s role in ISIS oil trade
The Russian Defense Ministry has released evidence which it says unmasks vast illegal oil trade by Islamic State and points to Turkey as the main destination for the smuggled petrol, implicating its leadership in aiding the terrorists.
The Russian Defense Ministry held a major briefing on new findings concerning IS funding in Moscow on Wednesday.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey.
“Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.
Antonov added that Turkey is the main buyer of smuggled oil coming from Iraq and Syria.
“According to our data, the top political leadership of the country - President Erdogan and his family – is involved in this criminal business.”
However, since the start of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Syria on September 30, the income of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants from illegal oil smuggling has been significantly reduced, the ministry said.
“The income of this terrorist organization was about $3 million per day. After two months of Russian airstrikes their income was about $1.5 million a day,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy said.
At the briefing the ministry presented photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes on IS oil storage facilities and maps detailing the movement of smuggled oil. More evidence is to be published on the ministry's website in the coming says, Rudskoy said.
