Turkey claims Syrian regime buying oil from Daesh

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused his Syrian counterpart of supporting terrorism in the region.

“The main culprit for today’s humanitarian tragedies and acts of terrorism is the Assad regime, which has killed 380,000 of its people,” Erdogan said, referring to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

“Assad carries out state terrorism.”

Speaking at an energy summit in Istanbul on Thursday, Erdogan said “whoever stands behind this person, they are as guilty as him.”

Turkey’s president also accused the Syrian regime of buying oil from Daesh.

“Now, all terrorist organizations in the region are serving the Assad regime directly or indirectly,” he added. “Daesh is supported by Assad. Assad now is taking Daesh oil and turning it into money. One has to be blind to not see this. It is obvious.”

Turning to the impact of Daesh attacks on the wider Muslim community, Erdogan said those who “degrade Islam and Muslims on account of Daesh are making a big mistake.”

He added: “As a matter of fact, all terrorist organizations that exploit Islam, like al-Qaeda and Boko Haram, are mostly killing Muslims and harming Muslims.”

Such groups had no relation to Islam, Erdogan said.

“The blood of every innocent victim murdered by these organizations is on the hands of those powers behind them.”