The downing of a
Russian Su-24 jet by the Turkish Air Force highlights Ankara’s efforts to
shield extremist groups operating in Syria to continue to profit from illegal
oil revenues generated by the Islamic State, experts told Sputnik on Thursday.
MOSCOW
(Sputnik) — On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 jet crashed in Syria. Russian
President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed by an air-to-air
missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet over Syrian territory,
ultimately falling 2.5 miles from the Turkish border.
Speaking on the subject on Wednesday, Russian
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the incident demonstrated Turkey's intent
to protect ISIL. Medvedev singled out "the direct financial interests
of several Turkish officials" involved in the delivery of oil
products extracted from ISIL-controlled enterprises as the motive
for the incident.
Various estimates place oil revenues generated
by ISIL somewhere between $40 to $50 million a month. A day prior
to the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had destroyed
over 1,000 semi-truck tankers carrying crude oil to ISIL refineries,
a large oil storage facility and an oil refinery in Syria.
Jihadist Support
"Turkey has been, at least, turning a blind
eye to IS [the Islamic State jihadist group] from the
beginning," senior King’s College London lecturer Bill Parker said.
"But it is clear that Turkey supports many other jihadi groups
in Syria."
Parker, the school’s Defense Studies Department expert
on Turkish foreign and security policy, classified the jihadist groups
backed by Turkey as its "proxy allies."
Charles Pembroke, risk analysis consultant at the
British branch of the Protection Group International private risk
management solutions company, noted Turkey’s previous expressions
of solidarity with Turkmen rebels in Syria’s Latakia province,
where the Russian jet was shot down.
Pembroke acknowledged that ISIL uses Turkey as a
route for smuggling Syrian oil, with the "complicity
of Turkish criminal gangs and corrupt officials," but said the
likelihood that Ankara sponsors ISIL on a state level is "extremely
unlikely."
"The financial rewards involved are far too small
and based on personal, not political, interest. Moreover, Turkey has
little to gain from a strengthened IS," he said, bringing
to mind a series of terrorist attacks carried out by the group
in Turkey this summer.
Lost Oil Revenue
The head of the Institute of Political and
Military Analysis (IPMA) analysis department, Alexander Khramchikhin, linked
the downing of the Russian aircraft to the previous airstrikes
on ISIL oil facilities.
"Turkey, I have no doubt, is simply avenging the
strikes on fuel trucks. It is well known that it is a general sponsor
of the Islamic caliphate, buying its oil at dumping prices," the
expert said.
Center for Political Information Director General
Alexei Mukhin weighed in on the prospects of Turkey losing revenues
from sales of oil smuggled by ISIL due to the Russian
airstrikes.
"It is clear that the Russian Aerospace Forces'
actions are hindering its development and there is a risk that this 'business'
will cease to exist in the near future because of the
efficiency of the Russian aviation," Mukhin stressed.
Implications
Li Weijian, executive director of the Shanghai
Institute for International Studies’ Institute for Foreign Policy
Studies, observed that the incident would force Turkey to "take a clear
position in relation to IS."
"And if Turkey will not only refrain
from fighting terrorists on its own, but even shoot
down planes involved in anti-terrorist operations, the world
community’s opinion would not favor Turkey," Li stressed.
Speaking to reporters after a phone
conversation with his Turkish counterpart earlier on Wednesday,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the Su-24 incident a
"planned provocation."
Putin described the Turkish attack as a "stab
in the back" carried out by "accomplices
of terrorists."
Source: Sputnik News 26-11-2015
