Turkey's Erdogan Ready to Stand Down If IS Oil Trade Claims Are Proven
Date
12/2/2015 4:05:11 AM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Turkish President Recep TayyipErdoganon Tuesday said he was ready to step down if allegations that Ankara tradedoilwith theIslamic State(IS) group were proven local media outlets say.
"The nobility of our nation would require that I would not stay in office" Hürriyet Daily News quotes him as saying.
He addedRussiashould elaborate on whatPutinearlier called "evidence" that substantial quantities of "ISoil" were used by Turkey.
This follows allegations hurled by Russian PresidentVladimirPutinand other officials thatTurkeyhad ties withISand purchased some of theoilproduced at refineries currently under its control in Iraq and Syria.
The accusations come against the backdrop of a spat betweenRussiaandTurkeyover the downing of a Russian aircraft that reportedly flew into Turkish airspace last week.
After Moscow introduced sanctions against Ankara following the latter's refusal to apologize over the incidentErdogansuggestedseveral times a meeting withPutinshould take place an invitation the Russian Presidentdeclines.
On the sidelines of a climate conference in ParisPutinalso suggested it had been "the desire to protect theoilsupply lines to Turkish territory: that drove Ankara to shoot down the Russian Su-24.
The latest developments also follow reports that trucks ofTurkey's intelligence serviceMIThad been transporting weapons into Syria used by IS. Turkish army officials were arrested over the incident on espionage charges on Sunday.
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