Erdogan proposed joint management of oil fields in deir ez-zor, with Russia
Proposal
Ankara, March 10, 2020 (Sputnik/NAN) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that he had proposed the joint management of oil fields in eastern Syria to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Erdogan said suggested that Russia and Turkey could manage the oil fields in place of the terrorists who controlled them at present.
Speaking to reporters during his flight back from Brussels, Erdogan said that Putin was evaluating the offer, which the Turkish president said he made during talks in Moscow.
Erdogan added that he could make a similar proposal to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Turkish leader recalling the conversation said, “I made the offer to Mr Putin that if he gives financial support, we can do the construction and through the oil obtained there, we can help destroyed Syria get on its feet.
“If such a step can be taken here, I can even make the same offer to Trump.
“Deir ez-Zor is another territory with oil reserves. In that province, terrorists exploit the oil resources. America has its own plans here.’’
Moscow has not yet commented on the veracity of the Turkish president’s recollection of his talks with Putin.
However, on previous occasions, Russian officials have repeatedly criticized efforts by any country to violate Syria’s territorial integrity or plunder its resources.
In November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington of trying to separate eastern Syria’s oil-rich territories to create an illegal quasi-state.
Earlier, the Russian military released detailed intelligence implicating the U.S. in a major oil-smuggling operation involving the CIA, the U.S. military, private contractors and Kurdish militias.
Erdogan did not clarify what `terrorists’ he was referring to, but Turkey is known to classify Syria’s Kurdish People’s Protection Units militias as terrorists linked to the Turkish Kurdish Worker’s Party.
The party is said to be a militia group which has waged a low-intensity guerilla campaign against Ankara since the 1980s.
In his comments to reporters, Erdogan also commented on Ankara’s request for U.S. Patriot missile systems and ongoing tensions between Ankara and Washington over Turkey’s decision to buy Russian-made S-400 missile systems.
“We made this offer to the United States on the Patriot: If you are going to give us Patriots, then do it. We can also buy Patriots from you.
“They also softened significantly on this S-400 issue.
“They are now at the point of ‘promise us you won’t make the S-400s operational,’’ he said.
Earlier, Turkish officials indicated that they planned to make their S-400s operational by April.
The U.S. moved to `secure’ oil rich-regions of eastern Syria in 2019 after moving troops away from the border with Turkey.
The decision sparked international condemnation and charges that Washington’s actions were a violation of international laws against pillaging. (Sputnik/NAN)
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Edited by Hadiza Mohammed/Emmanuel Yashim