Many were stunned last month when Turkish fighter aircraft shot down a Russian military jet near the Turkish border with Syria.
At the time, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the Russian plane was downed after it was warned that it was flying through Turkish airspace, and then ignored warnings to leave.
Not surprisingly, the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin angrily denounced the downing of the plane, one of whose two aircrew was killed. The surviving pilot insisted the Russians did not receive any warning.
Those who were stunned by Turkey’s action might now have a better understanding why Canada’s NATO ally would take such an extreme step against a country also involved in international efforts to defeat ISIS.
Equally importantly, the new government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as the Canadian people, have every reason to be aware of the circumstances surrounding the shooting down of the Russian plane, since Canadian pilots and Canadian special forces are involved in the fighting in that region, the special forces training Kurdish units fighting against ISIS.
If there were any doubt about the underlying reasons for the tension between Moscow and Erdogan, there was a dramatic turn this week.
During a press briefing given by top Russian military officers on Wednesday, the officers provided a range of photographic “evidence” of what they claimed demonstrated the direct involvement of Erdogan and his family members, especially his son Bilal, in organizing large-scale shipments of ISIS-controlled oil.
They claimed the photos proved that oil from areas under ISIS control were being systematically transported to three destinations in Turkey, where some would then be shipped to various buyers.
The Russian briefers claimed the number of transport vehicles was regularly in the hundreds. The shipments, they said, were forwarded on for further processing by companies controlled by Bilal Erdogan. Such shipments would effectively play a major role in sustaining ISIS.
Interestingly, when U.S. officials were asked to comment on the veracity of the claim, an American military officer reportedly admitted such massive shipments were known to be taking place.
When asked why the U.S. had not done something about the illegal shipments, the officer said the U.S. had to find a way to adequately warn the truck drivers involved in the shipments — who might be unaware of the shipment’s illegality — that they would be attacked by military aircraft if shipments proceeded.
Many in Canada might understandably find it difficult to believe that Turkey, a NATO ally, might be involved in assisting ISIS, which badly needs the huge revenues from the oilfields it still controls. But those familiar with President Erdogan won’t be completely surprised by his purported involvement in helping ISIS obtain oil revenue to support its control in the region.
In recent times, Erdogan and members of his ruling party, along some family members including Bilal, were accused of involvement in receiving large-scale illegal payments in Turkey from various sources.
Erdogan, then the prime minister, used his office to have almost every important official investigating the corruption scandal either transferred or dismissed, despite seemingly credible evidence of his own involvement in the payoffs.
Many Turks, long accustomed to Erdogan’s determination to use any means to advance his political and other objectives, believe he provoked a crisis with Kurdish guerrilla fighters in order to rally the Turkish population around his ruling party in recent elections.
Now, according to Russia, Erdogan is assisting the survival of ISIS terrorists to allegedly advance his family’s economic interests.
Harry Sterling, a former diplomat, is an Ottawa-based commentator. He served in Turkey.
