Moscow has repeatedly stated that Ankara is the main consumer of illegal oil from Syria and Iraq, accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of direct involvement in the oil business of the ISIL group, which is outlawed in Russia.
“We’ve known for along time that the Turks are the ones exporting the oil for ISIS [ISIL] and making the money so we did not attack the convoys… I think it’s a bad decision, but I think what the White House decided it was that better to have Turkey friendly than to have Turkey unfriendly,” Giraldi said in an interview with the global news network RT on the sidelines the international media conference organized by the broadcaster.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, ISIL earns around $2 billion annually selling oil from the occupied territories, spending these funds on hiring militants from around the world and equipping them with weapons.
