BELGRADE (Sputnik) — Russia will hand over to the United Nations and all interested counties solid proof of Turkey's involvement in illicit oil trade with terrorists, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.
"We have said repeatedly that oil from deposits controlled by Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is being transported abroad, including to Turkey, and the facts that confirm these statements will be formally presented to the United Nations and all interested countries," Lavrov said at a joint news conference with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic in Belgrade.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had received additional evidence that oil from fields controlled by the Islamic State (IS or Daesh in Arabic) were being transported to Turkey on an industrial scale.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday that Turkey is the main consumer of illegal oil from Syria and Iraq, accusing Erdogan and his family of direct involvement in the oil business of the terrorist group outlawed in Russia. He added that Daesh earns around $2 billion annually, spending these funds on hiring militants from around the world and equipping them with weapons.
