U.S. dismisses Russia's claim that Turkey's president buys oil from ISIL

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

U.S. officials dismissed Russian allegations Wednesday that Turkey's president profited from oil trading with the Islamic State.

"The Turks have been great partners" in fighting the Islamic State militants, said Col. Steve Warren, the coalition spokesman in Baghdad.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner agreed. “There is no Turkish government complicity in some operation to buy illegal oil from the Islamic State," he said, according to the Associated Press. "We just don’t believe that to be true in any way, shape or form.”

The allegations are an escalation of tensions between Russia and Turkey, a member of NATO, after Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last week. Russia has deployed surface-to-air missiles in Turkey, according to the Pentagon.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov made the allegations Wednesday in a briefing to reporters in Moscow that was published on the website of Russia's Ministry of Defense.

He said Moscow has evidence showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family personally benefit from oil transactions with the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIL or ISIS.

"Turkey is the main destination for the oil stolen from its legitimate owners, which are Syria and Iraq. Turkey resells this oil. The appalling part about it is that the country's top political leadership is involved in the illegal business — President Erdogan and his family," Antonov said.

He said oil "is transported to Turkey (from Islamic State territory) in industrial quantities along the 'rolling pipelines' made up of thousands of tanker trucks."

Russia has previously accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State, but this is the first time it accused the president or his family of being involved.

“No one has the right to make such a slander as to suggest that Turkey buys Daesh’s oil," Erdogan said in a speech at Qatar University, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. "Turkey has not lost its moral values as to buy oil from a terror organization.”

He warned that “if Russia’s disproportionate reactions continue, we will be forced to take our own measures,” the AP reported.

Erdogan said he would resign if the accusations against him are proved. Russia's Defense Ministry showed satellite images and video purporting to show the Islamic State transporting oil to Turkey but has not revealed further evidence.

Antonov said the Defense Ministry revealed "only part of the available facts that prove there is a single team at work in the region, composed of extremists and the Turkish elites conspiring to steal oil from their neighbors."

He urged journalists to pursue investigations to reveal the extent to which Turkey is involved in the illegal activity.

"We are confident that, with your help, truth will prevail," he said, addressing the media. USA TODAY was not able to view the evidence unveiled at the briefing in Moscow.

Estimates from the Treasury Department suggest that the Islamic State sells about $500 million worth of oil each year on the black market to help fund its fledgling state and terror campaigns around the world. Antonov said Wednesday that figure may be as high as $2 billion.

Russia's Defense Ministry reported that about 2,000 militants and up to 120 tons of ammunition have been transferred from Turkish territory to Syrian militants over the past week. It did not specify whether the militants belonged to the Islamic State group.