Turkish President vows to resign if Vladimir Putin can prove Isis oil smuggling accusations

The downing of a Russian plane by Turkey sparked a string of accusations and sanctions

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the G20 Leaders Summit in Antalya, Turkey (AFP)

The President of Turkey has vowed to resign if Vladimir Putin proves accusations that his country was buying oil from Isis.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied allegations that petrol products were being smuggled over the border from Syria after the Russian President accused his country of being the “accomplice of terrorists”.

The war of words started after Turkey shot down a Russian plane when it passed into its airspace while bombing Syria on 24 November.

“At the moment we have received additional information confirming that that oil from the deposits controlled by Islamic State militants enters Turkish territory on industrial scale,” Mr Putin said at a news conference in Paris yesterday.

“We have every reason to think that the decision to shoot down our plane was dictated by the desire to protect the oil supply lines to Turkish territory.”

Challenged on the claim as the global climate summit continued in France, Mr Erdogan responded by saying Turkey does not “buy oil from terrorists” and that its suppliers are publicly listed, but that he would resign if the claims can be proven.

“As soon as such a claim is proved, the nobility of our nation requires [me] to do this,” the Turkish President said, adding that Mr Putin should also step down if his accusations are shown to be unfounded.

“I am asking Mr Putin - would you stay?”

Mr Erdogan hit back by asking Russia to comment on the American government’s recent black-listing of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the World Chess Federation President, who stands accused of “materially assisting and acting for or on behalf of the Government of Syria”.

Both the US and European Union have imposed sanctions on a Syrian businessman, George Haswani, who allegedly acts as a “middleman” regime to buy Isis oil for the Syrian regime – Russia’s allies. He dismissed the charge as a “fantasy”.

Russia is imposing sanctions on Turkey, including food import restrictions and an end to visa-free travel, in revenge for the downing of its plane, which resulted in one of two pilots being shot dead by anti-Assad rebels as he parachuted to the ground.

The Kremlin continues to claim that the Su-24 remained in Syrian airspace but the US military has backed Turkey’s assertion that it briefly passed over the border.

Additional reporting by agencies