CNN)Russian military officials laid out Wednesday what they say is "hard evidence" that Turkey is involved in an oil trade with ISIS, offering more detail on earlier claims that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has flatly denied.
"We presented evidence how the illegal oil trade is carried out to finance the terrorist groups," Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said, as reported by state-run Sputnik news. "We know how much Erdogan's words are worth."
Officials presented photographs and videos that they said show links between Turkey and oil refineries in ISIS-controlled territory in Syria, estimating $3 million worth of oil per day was traversing this route before Russian airstrikes cut that roughly in half. Sergey Rudskoy, one of the military leaders, pointed to "three main routes (that) have been exposed for the transportation of oil to Turkey" -- one ending in Turkish ports on the Mediterranean Sea, another at an oil refinery in Batman and a third in Cizre.
Antonov said "the highest political leadership of the country -- President Erdogan and his family -- are involved in this criminal business," crediting Russian journalists for their reports tying one of Erdogan's sons to a role in the scheme.
"If they think the evidence is fake, let them make these areas available to journalists," Antonov said, placing the burden on the Turks to disprove Russia's claims.
Keeping up his own tough talk, the Turkish President blasted the allegations as wrong Wednesday during a speech at Qatar University.
"No one has the right to slander Turkey, especially the slander of Turkey buying ISIS oil," Erdogan said. "Turkey has not lost its moral values to buy oil from a terror organization."
War of words