Russia's Defense Ministry claims that after crossing the Turkish border, the oil tankers with oil from IS travel to the Batman refinery.
The Defense Ministry says that full information about the oil shipments will be posted on its website after today's press conference.
There are more accusations against Turkey from Lieutenant-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s joint military command center.
He says that Turkey has been regularly supplying arms and ammunition to militants in Syria.
Russia's Defense Ministry says that over the past week some 2,000 militants, 120 tons of ammunition and some 250 vehicles have crossed into Syria from Turkey.
There's been quite a lot of IS-related activity today, which means our news desk has produced a veritable flurry of reports. Here's a brief precis of what's been happening:
Lavrov Says Would Not Refuse Meeting With Turkish Counterpart
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he would not refuse to meet his Turkish counterpart in Belgrade later this week.
Lavrov's comments were made on December 2 after a meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides in Nicosia.
A meeting of the ministerial council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Belgrade, Serbia, is due to be held on December 3-4.
Lavrov said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was "insisting" on holding talks on the sidelines of the OSCE meeting. Lavrov said that he would "not be evading this contact," adding "we will hear what Mr. Cavusoglu has to say."
Relations between Ankara and Moscow have deteriorated since November 24, when a Russian warplane was shot down by a Turkish F-16 near the border with Syria, killing one of the pilots.
Ankara says that the plane was shot down after it illegally entered Turkish space. Russia insists the aircraft was above Syrian territory.
(Reuters, Interfax)
Kerry Says NATO Ready To Do More In Fight Against IS
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says other members of NATO have voiced a willingness to do more in the fight against Islamic State (IS) militants.
Kerry was speaking on December 2 in Brussels where NATO foreign ministers have been holding two days of meetings.
Kerry said he asked the NATO foreign ministers to do more to strike at IS's core in Iraq and Syria and strangle its international networks.
He said several countries are bringing more to the battle or will do soon, but failed to outline any concrete new commitments.
Germany recently approved sending forces and materiel for non-combat support roles near the Middle East. A British vote is expected later on December 2 on expanding that country's air strikes against IS into Syria.
Kerry said other countries would come forward with new plans after further discussions at home.
Kerry lauded Cameron's decision to go to parliament and seek approval for British strikes against IS in Syria.
"This is a very important step. We applaud his leadership," Kerry told reporters.
(AP, Reuters)
Kerry Says Iraq Briefed On U.S. Special Forces
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said Baghdad was fully briefed on U.S. plans to deploy U.S. special forces to Iraq.
Kerry's comments in Brussels on the sidelines of a NATO meeting on December 2 come a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Washington would deploy a force of special operations troops to combat Islamic State militants.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's office said Iraq's government would need to approve any deployment of special operations forces anywhere in Iraq.
He also said foreign ground combat troops were not needed in Iraq, although it was unclear whether Baghdad viewed these U.S. special operations forces in that role.
Kerry said the two governments would consult closely on where the U.S. special forces will go and what they will do.
"We will continue to work very, very closely with our Iraqi partners on exactly who would be deployed, where they would be deployed, what kinds of missions people would undertake, how they would support Iraqi efforts to degrade and destroy ISIL," Kerry said, referring to IS by one of its other names.
(AP, Reuters)
Lawmakers To Vote On Whether Britain Should Join Campaign Against IS In Syria
Britain's parliament is likely to vote on December 2 to approve British air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria.
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged lawmakers from all parties to back his call for attacks on the militants.
The motion says military action against Islamic State "is only one component of a broader strategy to bring peace and stability to Syria."
Cameron suffered a parliamentary defeat in 2013 over plans to bomb the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Drawing on that experience, Cameron made it clear he would not bring a vote to parliament if he did not think he could win it.
Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran antiwar campaigner elected as the opposition Labour leader in September, opposes the move, but said he would allow his lawmakers to vote according to their conscience -- breaking with a tradition for leaders to instruct lawmakers how to vote on big decisions.
The vote is expected late on December 2 after 10-1/2 hours of debate in parliament.
(AP, Reuters)
Georgia Arrests Four For Suspected Islamic State Links
Georgian police have arrested four people on suspicion of having links with the Islamic State group.
Georgian State Security Service Deputy Director Levan Izoria said on December 1 the arrests were made the previous day after a counterterrorist unit carried out raids on 11 houses.
He did not specify where the searches or arrests were made, although Georgian media said the four were arrested in a western Georgian village.
Izoria said hand grenades, pistols, bullets, and explosive devices along with mobile phones, SIM cards, computers, and Islamic State flags were found in the homes of the four suspects.
He said the four men have been charged with the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
(Reuters, civil.ge)
Turkey's foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that he is still waiting for a response to a request to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reports.
Cavusoglu said he does not want tensions with Moscow to escalate.
Both foreign ministers are set to atten the OSCE ministerial council in Belgrade tomorrow and Friday.
The Washington Post's Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth, who attended the Russian Defense Ministry's press briefing today, has this to say about the claims made at the event. The German military attache said that the evidence presented is new and will be looked into, according to Roth.
The Russian Defense Ministry has posted an English transcript of a statement made at today's press briefing by deputy defense minister Anatoly Antonov.
Antonov accused Turkish President Erdogan of playing a role in reselling illegally traded oil from IS.
Illegal oil revenues are one of the main sources of income for the terrorists in Syria. According to some reports, they make about $2 billion a year on illegal oil trade.
Turkey is the main destination for the oil stolen from its legitimate owners, which are Syria and Iraq. Turkey resells this oil. The appalling part about it is that the country's top political leadership is involved in the illegal business — President Erdogan and his family.
The Turkish leadership has demonstrated extreme cynicism. Look at what they are doing! They have invaded the territory of another country and are brazenly plundering it. And if the hosts are standing in their way, they must be removed.
We understand that some of the Turkish leaders, notably Mr. Erdogan, will not step down and will not admit anything.
I would like to emphasize that Erdogan's resignation is not our goal. It’s up to the people of Turkey to decide.
France 'Shut Down 3 Mosques Since Paris Attacks'
France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has said that police have shut down three mosques under emergency laws passed in the wake of last month's Paris terrorist attacks, France24 reports.
Police raided one of the mosques this morning in the eastern Paris suburb of Lagny-sur-Marne. Nine people were placed under house arrest and 22 were banned from leaving the country.
Cazeneuve said that police have also arrested 232 people and carried out 2,235 raids since the November 13 attacks, which killed 130 people.
Russia's Defense Ministry has published footage that it claims shows trucks crossing the Syria-Turkey border near Reyhanli.
The Russian Defense Ministry has uploaded an English-dubbed video of its press briefing earlier today in which it accused Turkey -- and in particular Turkish President Erdogan -- of profiting from IS oil sales.