Putin accuses Turkey of trading oil with Islamic State

Turkish prime minister denies allegations as ‘Soviet-style propaganda’

Russia's defence ministry says it had proof that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his family are benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq. Video: Reuters

Russia's President Vladimir Putin called Thursday for a broad international front against terrorism and accused Turkey of trading oil with Islamic State.

Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address, Mr Putin called for an end to what he called double standards, and halting any backing of terror groups.

He specifically targeted Turkey, accusing it of buying oil from Islamic State, also known as Isis. He said that Turkey's downing of a Russian jet at the border with Syria was a "treacherous war crime".

Turkey said it shot down the plane after it violated its airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings, while Russia has insisted that the aircraft has stayed in Syria's airspace.

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Moscow has responded to the shooting down by deploying long-range air defence missile systems to its air base in Syria and placing an array of economic sanctions on Turkey.

"We know that Turkey is filling its pocket and allows terrorists to earn money by selling oil stolen from Syria," he said. "For that money the bandits are recruiting mercenaries, buying weapons and staging cruel terror attacks aimed against our citizens, as well as citizens of France, Lebanon, Mali and other countries."

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied that his country was involved in oil trade with Isis, but the Russian Defence Ministry on Wednesday released an array of satellite and aerial images showing hundreds of oil tankers streaming across the border to prove the claims.

Mr Putin said Russia will take other retaliatory moves against Turkey, but will not engage in sabre rattling.

“We will remind them not once about what they have done, and they will feel sorry about it more than once,” he said without specifying what other actions Russia may take.

‘Soviet-style propaganda’

Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu also dismissed the allegations as "Soviet-style propaganda" and said the NATO member was doing all it could to secure its border with Syria.

“In the Cold War period there was a Soviet propaganda machine. Every day it created different lies. Firstly they would believe them and then expect the world to believe them. These were remembered as Pravda lies and nonsense,” Mr Davutoglu said.

"This was an old tradition but it has suddenly reared its head again. Nobody attaches any value to the lies of this Soviet-style propaganda machine," he told a news conference before leaving on an official visit to Azerbaijan.

Mr Davutoglu said a rejection of Russia's claims by the United States was further evidence that Moscow was peddling a fabricated narrative.

US state department spokesman Mark Toner said on Wednesday that Washington rejected the premise that the Turkish government was in league with the militants to smuggle oil, saying it saw no evidence to support the accusation.

But president Barack Obama and other senior US officials have also voiced frustration in recent days at lingering gaps in security along a roughly 100 km stretch of Turkey's border with Syrian territory controlled by Islamic State.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Wednesday that some areas were still not properly secured, while Mr Davutoglu said Turkey was doing all it could to set up "physical barriers" on its border.

Agencies