After a Turkish Air Force F-16 shot down a Russian Su-24 plane, which was on an anti-ISIL bombing mission, the Russian government harshly criticized Turkey's aggressive actions, describing the incident as a "stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists."
The United States and its Western allies ignored Erdogan's behind the scenes play, because Turkey provided its NATO allies use of Turkish territory and air space to carry out attacks on Syria, Defense One explained.
ISIL sells a massive amount of oil-refined products to illegal oil traders using routes through Turkey.
"In all, ISIL earns about half a billion dollars a year from such sales," Defense One reported, citing the Financial Times.
Furthermore, Defense One agreed with a statement, previously stated by Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the Russian State Duma, that ISIL used Turkish territory as a transit place to bring reinforcements and arms to conflict zones in Syria.
Unlike the West, which needed Turkish support, which is why they tolerated Erdogan's double-game, Russia revealed the not-so-sincere-actions of the Turkish government in Syria, the US magazine said.
Ankara claimed that it downed the Russian airplane because it violated Turkish airspace. Both the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace and was shot down over Syrian territory.
The day before the downing of the Su-24, Russian airstrikes destroyed over 1,000 semi-truck tankers carrying crude oil to ISIL refineries, a large oil storage facility and an oil refinery in Syria.
