Erdogan To Resign if Putin IS Oil Trade Claims Proven

Erdogan said that Turkey obtained all its oil and gas imports "though the legal path."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said he would be ready to quit office if allegations by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that Turkey traded oil with Islamic State (IS) jihadists were proven, according to Agence France-Presse.

"I will say something very strong here. If such a thing is proven, the nobility of our nation would require that I would not stay in office," Erdogan was quoted by the state-run Anatolia news agency as saying on the sidelines of the UN climate talks near Paris, which Putin is also attending, AFP reports.

"Let's remain patient and let's not act emotionally," said Erdogan.

Erdogan said that Turkey obtained all its oil and gas imports "though the legal path."

"We are not dishonest so as to do this kind of exchange with terrorist groups. Everyone needs to know this."

After the Su-24 bomber was downed on the Syrian border last week, Putin accused the Turks of being "accomplices of terrorists" and said oil from IS territory was being exported through Turkey.