Lavrov: US Turning Blind Eye on ISIL Oil Trade

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the United States is turning a blind eye on the oil sales of the Ttakfiri group, ISIL (so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Levant).

During a press conference with his Syrian counterpart, Walid al-Moallem, in Moscow Friday, Lavrov said the US-led coalition allegedly fighting the insurgents in Iraq and Syria has been aware of the terror group’s oil sales, but has ignored it “for some unknown reason.”

Russian FM Sergei Lavrov

“I am convinced that they saw all that but did not do anything for some unknown reason. Russian warplanes started bombing that criminal industry when they began operation in that area," Lavrov said.

"Of course, it’s certainly not a coincidence that our Turkish neighbors grew more and more nervous” after the bombardment of ISIL oil tankers by Russian fighter jets, Lavrov stressed.

Russia launched military airstrikes against ISIL and other terrorist groups in Syria on September 30, following an official request from the Syrian government. The Russian Navy has also contributed to the fight against the terrorists, firing missiles at targets in Syria from its warships in the Caspian Sea.

A US-led coalition has been bombing purported ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq for over a year, but the air campaign has largely been ineffective.