Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Turkish authorities of working side by side with terrorist organisations such as ISIS, amid an ongoing civil war taking place in southern Turkey which has gone unreported in the media.

“We believe that the current Turkish leadership not so much fights the radicals, but rather cooperates with them,” Putin told reporters.

RT.com reports:

“In fact, there is a civil war going on in southern Turkey.

We try to ignore it, the international community pretends not to notice it, but it’s a fact.

Moreover, [the war goes on] with the use of heavy weaponry and equipment, artillery and so on,” he said, highlighting the fact that terrorist attacks take place in Turkey “nearly each week.”

Commenting on the possibility of Russian tourists returning to the ‘Turkish Riviera’, Putin said that there are no security guarantees for Russians in Turkey.

“The Turkish leadership will seek to ensure the safety of tourists, but the big question is whether they will succeed in doing this,” he added.