During this year’s G-20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, Vladimir Putin, said that the radical jihadist Islamic State was being financed by donors from at least ’40 countries,’ including some G-20 member states.[1]
Reading between the lines it is clear he was referring to Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Days after this announcement saw two Turkish F-16 jets shoot down a Russian SU-24 warplane.
The battleground for East V. West is Syria, with Russia and China backing the Shi’ite version of Islam over the Sunni version of Islam.[2]
Shi’ite Islam is represented in the regime of President Bashar al-Assad; and also in Iran, in this sense we can see Islam is the factor from which the Third World War parameters will be fought. This means the West are being dragged into the position of back up for the Sunni version of Islam, while the East is being ramped up to support the more moderate and peaceful version of Islam, there Shi’ite.
Has any politician asked the Western populations if they are happy to support the fanatical Islam of the Saudi Wahhabi creed, administered through the Muslim Brotherhood? No is the clear answer. It is being forced upon us through mass immigration of Muslim fanatics across Europe, piloted by NATO.
In this sense it is clear ‘IS’ are a fully formed mercenary force of NATO which is taking over Europe for their masters. But as long as they have the Western populations fixate to NATO V. Russia, then the real game of NATO remains hidden, albeit in plane sight.
Putin called the air force incident “a stab in the back” and refuted Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s requests to discuss the issue. Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, quickly cancelled his official visit to Turkey, which had been planned before the incident.
Many expected Russia’s response to be of a military nature, but the economic relationship between Russia and Turkey is one that Russia appears to hold the advantage :
Moscow said it will introduce visa restrictions for Turkish citizens, beginning 1 January 2016.
Russian authorities have already detained a group of Turkish businessmen on charges relating to false statements about the trip to Russia.
Media reports noted that Russia was considering excluding Turkish construction companies from Russia, a move with the potential to lose Turkey multi-billion dollar contracts which would bolster the Turkish economy.
Russia has warned its citizens against visiting Turkey, with tour operators warned to suspend business with the Turks. When you consider the fact last year over 4.5 million Russian tourists visited Turkey then it is clear this action will have a huge effect on Turkeys tourism industry.
Turkey buys around 55 percent of its natural gas from Russia, with Iran being its second major supplier of natural gas, Iran of course also happens to be Russia’s ally in Syria.
To further hit Turkeys energy requirements two huge Turkey-Russian energy projects can be used to bolster the response of Russia to the downing of the jet, with the planned Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Russian nuclear energy plant build in Turkey being halted.
Russia’s Agriculture Minister, Alexander Tkachev, said that Russia would be replacing Turkish food imports with goods from Iran, Israel and Morocco. Shipments of wheat to Turkey from Russia were also put on hold.
It is fair to say that there has been a serious response from Russia against Turkey for the downing of the fighter jet, with the Kremlin having officially announced a wide range of sanctions, including a ban on Turkish workers with some estimates claiming around 90,000 are to be sacked by 1 January, 2016. There are also restrictions on imported goods and services from Turkey with calls for the strengthening of port control and monitoring to ensure transport safety. Some 1,250 trucks carrying Turkish exported goods were blocked from entering Russia on 30 November this year and were stranded at border posts awaiting clearance.
Russian football clubs will be banned from signing Turkish players during the winter break.
The final blow to the prestige and credibility of Erdogan and Turkey came from Vladimir Putin himself who, in his annual address to the Parliament said :
“We know who are stuffing pockets in Turkey and letting terrorists prosper from the sale of oil they stole in Syria. The terrorists are using these receipts to recruit mercenaries, buy weapons and plan inhuman terrorist attacks against Russian citizens and against people in France, Lebanon, Mali and other states. We remember that the militants who operated in the North Caucasus in the 1990s and 2000s found refuge and received moral and material assistance in Turkey. We still find them there.”
“Meanwhile, the Turkish people are kind, hardworking and talented. We have many good and reliable friends in Turkey. Allow me to emphasise that they should know that we do not equate them with the certain part of the current ruling establishment that is directly responsible for the deaths of our servicemen in Syria.”
“We will never forget their collusion with terrorists. We have always deemed betrayal the worst and most shameful thing to do, and that will never change. I would like them to remember this those in Turkey who shot our pilots in the back, those hypocrites who tried to justify their actions and cover up for terrorists.”
“I don’t even understand why they did it. Any issues they might have had, any problems, any disagreements we knew nothing about could have been settled in a different way. Plus, we were ready to cooperate with Turkey on all the most sensitive issues it had; we were willing to go further, where its allies refused to go. Allah only knows, I suppose, why they did it. And probably, Allah has decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by taking their mind and reason.”
“But, if they expected a nervous or hysterical reaction from us, if they wanted to see us become a danger to ourselves as much as to the world, they won’t get it. They won’t get any response meant for show or even for immediate political gain. They won’t get it.”
“Our actions will always be guided primarily by responsibility to ourselves, to our country, to our people. We are not going to rattle the sabre. But, if someone thinks they can commit a heinous war crime, kill our people and get away with it, suffering nothing but a ban on tomato imports, or a few restrictions in construction or other industries, they’re delusional. We’ll remind them of what they did, more than once. They’ll regret it. We know what to do.”
This move could lead to a closer relationship between Turkey and Europe against the wishes of the Europeans, signs this is already happening come in the form of the EU’s visa policy which has been changed to combat the refugee problem, as the Times reports that Turks will be allowed to travel across the European Union without a visa under a deal struck by Ankara and Brussels.
In return, Turkey has agreed to take back illegal migrants who entered the bloc across its borders.
Is this an admission that Europe has no political will to protect the union and its populations from harm?
Notes
[1] Why war when Russia is a member of the World Trade Organisation?
[2] In Profile : The Difference Between the Shia of Iran and Sunni of Arabia in Islamic Terms
Further Study
Putin lifts export ban on uranium enrichment equipment to Iran, Globally Agreed
The Road to the New World Order
Islam
Putin Tells Army To Prepare For World War IIIĀ With US In Syria