Putin claims Turkey downed Russian warplane to defend IS oil supplies, Turkey offers no apology

[Dr Frook]

somehow I think this is partly true

Turkey's decision to down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border was dictated by a desire to defend Islamic State oil supplies to Turkey, according to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Mr Putin said Russia had received information which confirmed IS oil was being shipped through Turkish territory.

He was speaking after Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey would not apologise for shooting down the Sukhoi Su-24 last month.

"Protection of our airspace, our border, is not only a right but a duty for my government, and no Turkish premier or president ... will apologise [for] doing our duty," Mr Davutoglu told a joint press conference with NATO head Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance's headquarters.

Mr Davutoglu added that "we hope Russia will reconsider these measures in both our interests", referring to the sanctions that Moscow imposed after the shooting down of the war plane last week.

"If the Russian side wants to talk, we are ready; if they want more information, we are ready; if they want to normalise relations, we are ready to talk," he said.

Mr Davutoglu made the announcement after Mr Putin rejected an invitation to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Paris global climate conference.

Mr Erdogan had called for face-to-face talks with Mr Putin as Moscow and Ankara trade furious charge and counter-charge over who was responsible for downing the plane.

Russia's government on Monday laid out more details of retaliatory economic sanctions aimed at denting Turkey's key tourism and agricultural sectors, as Ankara said that it had returned the body of the crew member to Russia.

Moscow announced it would halt fruit and vegetable imports from Turkey after Mr Putin signed a decree over the weekend banning charter flights and the sale of package holidays, and scrapping Russia's visa-free regime with the country.

Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev called the moves a "first step" as Moscow also said it would limit Turkish transport firms and tighten controls on construction contracts.

Mr Erdogan said on Monday his government would act "patiently, not emotionally" before taking any measures in response to Russia's decision to impose sanctions on Turkey.

Turkey was working to ensure ties with Russia, its main energy supplier, do not rupture completely, Mr Erdogan told reporters.

NATO chief Mr Stoltenberg said that while Turkey had every right to defend its airspace, the focus now had to be on avoiding any escalation as the allies try to forge a common front — possibly including Russia — against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in the wake of the Paris attacks.

"I welcome Turkish efforts to establish contacts with Russia to de-escalate ... it is important to stay calm," Mr Stoltenberg said.

"I urge Russia to play a constructive role in Syria by targeting IS, our common enemy," he added, referring to criticisms by Western nations that Russia has been targeting non-IS opposition forces in Syria.

[Shadow00]

Tbqh this is mostly true, there are photos etc of this being done.
Also, turkey has (for aa looooong time now) been accused of such actions (back to al qaeda days)

[Shadowstar1922]

Well, in a country where oil is 8 dollars a gallon, I'm sure they'd like new sellers who offer much lower prices.

it's been known Turkey has been dealing with ISIS all the way back in 2012 when they staged a car accident to murder an Iranian-American reporter who had uncovered Turkey's links with ISIS. thank god her work got smuggled out.