Since Turkey downed a Russian SU-24 fighter near the Syrian border Nov. 24, accusations flew from Moscow, exposing Turkey’s business relationship, buying oil from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. While unproven, the State Department has known for some time that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son Bilal has been buying oil at $15-20 per barrel, repackaging and reselling oil for substantial profits. Pictured slapping backs with members of ISIS, Bilal found a lucrative business buying black market oil on the cheap and reselling it for whopping profits. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ubiquitous Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov leveled accusations of Turkey’s oil buys from ISIS. Destroying 1,000 oil tankers heading to Turkey got Erdogan’s attention, prompting the Nov. 24 shoot down of a Russian SU-24 fighter jet barely straying, if at all, into Turkey’s airspace.
Erdogan reacted defiantly to Russia’s accusations about buying oil from Daesh, the Arabic name given to ISIS. “Shame on you. Those who claim we buy oil for Daesh [IS] are obliged to prove it. If not, you are a slanderer,” Erdogan said, not denying that someone in Turkey, including his son Bilal, buy discounted ISIS oil, reselling it to third parties, including Turkey. When a string of ISIS oil tankers make their way North and disappear into Turkey, Erdogan insists he’s got no clue where the oil goes. Showing no contrition for downing a Russian fighter jet, Erdogan refuted the charge that Turkey buys oil from Daesh. Most savvy entrepreneurs know that oil can be easily repackaged and sold to anyone, making its origins difficult to prove. Erdogan’s defensive response doesn’t deny that unnamed Turkish third parties buy oil from ISIS, only that Russia and others have no proof.
Making an estimated $1 million a day from illicit oil sales, ISIS is flush with cash to fund its insurgency, hoping in the not-too-distant future to topple Baghdad and Damascus, expanding the ISIS caliphate from its current borders in Iraq and Syria. President Barack Obama can’t get his Syria policy straight, insisting, on the one hand, he’s battling ISIS, while, on the other hand, trying to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama, and his Secretary of State John Kerry, insist that Russia stop bombing Saudi-backed Sunni terror groups seeking to topple al-Assad’s Shiite government. Putin’s told the White House and stated publicly at the U.N. that toppling al-Assad would repeat the same mistakes in Iraq and Libya, resulting in more Mideast chaos. Obama continues to insist that al-Assad must go, despite having no U.N. resolution authorizing Damascus regime change.
Putin’s been a long-time ally of al-Assad, leasing his Tartus Mediterranean naval base and Khmeimim air base, giving the Kremlin a strong Mideast footprint, countering NATO’s Mediterranean status. With French President Francois Hollande meeting with Putin today in Moscow to enlist Russia’s support in the war against ISIS, Obama can’t explain why regime change in Damascus takes precedence over fighting ISIS. Speaking at a joint White House press conference with Hollande Nov. 24, Obama said he wanted Putin to stop bombing Syrian opposition groups to prevent another mishap in Turkey, or some other country, shooting down a Russian jet. Obama can’t explain to Capitol Hill or the European Union why toppling al-Assad’s Shiite government takes a higher priority that fighting ISIS. Obama knows that ISIS and al-Qaeda’s al-Nusra Front also seek regime change in Damascus.
Erdogan refuses to apologize to Russia for downing its fighter jet. “It think if there’s a party that needs to apologize, it’s not us,” said Erodogan, blaming Russia for violating Turkey’s airspace. “Those who violated our airspace are the ones that need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply performed their duties which consisted of responding to . . . violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence,” insisted Erdogan, hitting Turkish-Russian relations with a wrecking ball. Putin said today at a news conference with French President Francois Hollande that the U.S. knew in advance Russian flights plans. Erdogan knows that his air force made a catastrophic blunder downing a Russian fighter jet. Most countries flying missions around the Mideast breach each other’s airspace without incident. Turkey had zero justification to fire on the Russian jet.
Putin accused Erdogan to buying ISIS oil, insisting Russian intelligence carefully tracked ISIS tankers heading North, disappearing inside the Turkish border. Erdogan called Putin’s charges “slanderous,” insisting Russia has no proof of illicit ISIS oil transactions. Saying Putin has no proof is vastly different than denying that Turkey ever purchased ISIS oil. Calling Turkey a “sponsor of terrorism,” Putin said Turkey profited from buying ISIS oil, aiding-and-abetting terrorism. Refusing to apologize, Erdogan stubbornly adheres to the indefensible excuse that Russia violated Turkish airspace. Backing the Saudi proxy war against al-Assad’s Shiite Syrian government, Erdogan blames al-Assad for creating the war-like atmosphere resulting in Russia’s downed jetliner. Without a formal Turkish apology and compensation, Turkey’s diplomatic relations with Russian hit an irreversible “dead end.”
