Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that the plane was shot because it violated Turkish airspace. He vowed to resign if Russian can prove its claim. "We have recently received additional reports that confirm that oil from ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant)controlled territories is delivered to the territory of Turkey on an industrial scale," Putin said, according to TASS news agency. The Islamic State is also referred to as ISIL. "We have all grounds to suspect that the decision to down our plane was motivated by the intention to secure these routes of delivering oil to ports where it is loaded on tankers," he said.
Erdogan shot back immediately stating that the Rusian charge is untrue. "It is obvious where we legally buy oil and natural gas from," Erdogan said. "Everyone must know that we are not that disreputable to make such a deal with terrorist organizations." "As soon as such a claim is proved, the nobility of our nation requires (me) to do this (resign)," Erdogan told reporters. But, he added, if the allegations are not proven, then Putin should resign. "I am asking Putin, would you remain?" The United States in the meanwhile has urged both the countries to reduce tensions over the issue. "We all have a common enemy," President Barack Obama said, referring to the so-called Islamic State group. "I want to make sure that we focus on that threat," he said.
Russia and Turkey hold widely different views about how to end the Syrian civil war. Ankara's position is that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has to step down for the conflict to end -- a position that is supported by the US. Moscow backs Assad. In October Russian planes began airstrikes inside Syria claiming to target the Islamic State. Airspace has been a friction point in the past. In early October, Turkey said it intercepted a Russian jet that violated its airspace. The jet moved away when confronted by Turkish planes, Turkey said. Turkey had then delivered a stern warning to the Russian ambassador.
Tension escalates as Moscow alleges Turkey trading oil with IS