On 23 March, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, informed his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the flow of illegal oil and weapons across the Syrian-Turkish border continues. This comes despite attacks on ISIS’ infrastructure, and UN sanctions. Operations by the US and Russia have slowed ISIS’ oil business, however Russia remains concerned about the amount of cross-border smuggling traffic. Lavrov said that: “Nevertheless, it is still there. We are not talking about a few hundred thousand barrels per day but rather tens or hundreds of thousands of barrels.” Russia has argued that the smuggling violates UN resolutions, but Turkey is in a difficult position, finding it hard to fully patrol its 511-mile-long border.
On 23 March, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, informed his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the flow of illegal oil and weapons across the Syrian-Turkish border continues. This comes despite attacks on ISIS’ infrastructure, and UN sanctions. Operations by the US and Russia have slowed ISIS’ oil business, however Russia remains concerned about the amount of cross-border smuggling traffic. Lavrov said that: “Nevertheless, it is still there. The sector of the border between two Kurdish enclaves in northern Syria is actively used.” Russia has argued that the smuggling violates UN resolutions, but Turkey is in a difficult position, finding it hard to fully patrol its 511-mile-long border.