Putin accuses Turkey of shooting down plane to secure illegal oil

PARIS — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he and U.S. President Barack Obama have a shared understanding on how to move toward a political settlement in Syria.

But Putin said incidents such as the downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish fighter jet on Nov. 24 stymie broader co-operation against extremism.

After a half-hour meeting with Obama, Putin said “we have an understanding how we should proceed if we talk about a political settlement. We need to work on a new (Syrian) constitution, new elections and the control over their outcome.”

Obama expressed regret at the shooting down of the Russian warplane and pushed Moscow and Ankara to reduce tensions.

But Putin lashed out Monday at Turkey, making it clear Russia wants a formal apology from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the downed plane. Turkey has refused to apologize, although Erdogan has expressed regret over the incident.

Putin accused Turkey of downing the warplane in order to protect what he described as massive illegal imports of ISIL-produced oil, saying Ankara’s claim that it was worried about Russian blows on the territory populated by a Turkish ethnic group in Syria was “just a pretext.”

Turkey said it downed the plane after it intruded its airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings.

“We have every reason to believe that a decision to shoot down our plane was prompted by a desire to ensure security of that oil to the territory of Turkey and on to sea ports for loading into tankers,” Putin said. “We have received additional information confirming that oil from (ISIL)-controlled deposits flows into Turkey on an industrial scale.” Still, he said, Russia would continue its efforts to help form a wider coalition against terror. “We will strive for helping form a working broad coalition,” he said, adding that it’s impossible to unite global efforts against ISIL as long as “some use terrorist organizations to achieve momentary political goals and fail to observe the UN Security Council resolutions banning the sales of illegally produced oil.”

Russia on Monday imposed economic sanctions including a ban on Turkish food exports. It also called for ending chartered flights to Turkey from Russia and for tourism companies to stop selling vacation packages that would include a stay in Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Brussels he hoped Moscow would reconsider sanctions, but refused to yield on Turkish security.

“Protection of Turkish airspace, Turkish borders is a national duty, and our army did their job to protect this airspace. But if the Russian side wants to talk, and wants to prevent any future unintentional events like this, we are ready to talk.”

Meanwhile, Germany plans to send 1,200 troops to Syria to join the fight against ISIL, while in London, Prime Minister David Cameron called for a debate and vote Wednesday in Parliament on whether Britain should launch airstrikes against militants in Syria, saying the nation must stand with its allies in confronting extremism. Following the Paris attacks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to honour a request from France to provide support for its military operations against ISIL in Syria. Germany already provides weapons and training for Kurds fighting ISIL in Iraq. German troops won’t actively engage in combat.

Officials rejected any suggestion that Germany might cooperate with troops still loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, but left open the possibility that the country’s military might become part of an anti-ISIL coalition.

We have every reason to believe that a decision to shoot down our plane was prompted by a desire to ensure security of that oil to the territory of Turkey and onto sea ports for loading into tankers.

VLADIMIR PUTIN

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT