Turkish President Recep Erdogan has challenged President Vladimir Putin to prove allegations that Turkey downed a Russian jet to protect oil supplies from the Islamic State, or resign from his post, the state-run TASS news agency reported Monday.
Speaking on the sidelines of a United Nations climate conference in Paris on Monday, Erdogan refuted Putin's allegations that Turkey was buying oil from the Islamic State — a militant group banned in Russia.
"If the [allegations] are proven, I will not stay in office,” Erdogan was cited as saying. " So I ask our honorable Putin, would he stay??€?
Relations between the two countries have hit a post-Cold War low after Turkey last week downed a Russian Su-24 fighter jet on the border with Syria.
Putin on Monday called the downing “a huge mistake?€? and accused Turkey of being ?€?accomplices of terrorists.?€?
"We have received additional data which confirm that Islamic State oil ... is supplied to Turkey," Putin said. "The decision to shoot down the plane was dictated specifically by a desire to defend supplies,?€? he was cited as saying by TASS in a separate report.
Since the plane was downed, Moscow has retaliated by canceling a visa-free regime with Turkey and imposing an import ban on Turkish produce.