President Vladimir Putin says
he’s shared Russian intelligence data on Islamic State financing with his G20
colleagues: the terrorists appear to be financed from 40 countries, including
some G20 member states.
During the
summit, “I provided examples based on
our data on the financing of different Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL)
units by private individuals. This money, as we have established, comes from 40
countries and, there are some of the G20 members among them,”
Putin told the journalists.
Putin also
spoke of the urgent need to curb the illegal oil trade by IS.
"I’ve shown our colleagues photos taken from
space and from aircraft which clearly demonstrate the scale of the illegal
trade in oil and petroleum products," he said.
“The motorcade of refueling vehicles
stretched for dozens of kilometers, so that from a height of 4,000 to 5,000
meters they stretch beyond the horizon," Putin added,
comparing the convoy to gas and oil pipeline systems.
It’s not the
right time to try and figure out which country is more and which is less
effective in the battle with Islamic State, as now a united international
effort is needed against the terrorist group, Putin said.
Putin
reiterated Russia’s readiness to support armed opposition in Syria in its
efforts to fight Islamic State.
"Some
armed opposition groups consider it possible to begin active operations against
IS with Russia's support. And we are ready to provide such support from the
air. If it happens it could become a good basis for the subsequent work on a
political settlement,” he said.
“We really need
support from the US, European nations, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran,” the president
added.
Putin pointed
out the change in Washington’s stance on cooperation with Moscow in the fight
against the terrorists.
"We need to organize work specifically
concentrated on the prevention of terrorist attacks and tackling terrorism on a
global scale. We offered to cooperate [with the US] in anti-IS efforts.
Unfortunately, our American partners refused. They just sent a written note and
it says: ‘we reject your offer’,” Putin said.
“But life is always evolving and at a very
fast pace, often teaching us lessons. And I think that now the realization that
an effective fight [against terror] can only be staged together is coming to
everybody,” the Russian leader said.
According to
Putin, first of all it should be decided which groups in Syria can be
considered terrorist organizations and which can be attributed to an armed, but
still legitimate part of the Syrian opposition.
“Our efforts must be concentrated on the
battle with terrorist organizations.”
Putin also
disagreed with Western criticism of Russia’s actions in Syria, where the
country has been carrying out a large-scale air campaign against Islamic State
and other terror groups since September 30.
“It’s really difficult to
criticize us,” he said, adding that Russia has repeatedly asked its foreign partners to
provide data on terrorist targets in Syria.
“They’re afraid to inform us on the
territories which we shouldn’t strike, fearing that it is precisely where we’ll
strike; that we are going to cheat everybody,” the president said.
“Apparently, their opinion of
us is based on their own concept of human decency,” he added.
Putin told the media that Russia has already established contact with the
Syrian opposition, which has asked Moscow not carry out airstrikes in the
territories it controls.
Still no conclusion on what caused Sinai plane crash
It’s too early to make conclusions about the reasons for the crash of the
Russian A321 jet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in late October, as all possible
reasons are still being considered by the investigators, Putin said.
“We know about all the possible
scenarios, all of the scenarios are being considered. The final conclusion can
only be made after the implementation and completion of the inspection,” he stressed.
"If there was an explosion, the
traces of explosives would have remained on the liner’s cover and on the
belongings of the passengers. It’s inevitable. And we have enough equipment and
skilled, world class experts, capable of finding those traces. Only then would
it be possible to speak about the reasons for this tragedy," the president added.
With 224 people dying in the crash, Putin said that "it's a huge emotional pain for all of us; for all Russian people, no
matter what the cause of the crash was."
rt.com/news
16.11.2015
