Syrian oil has become a stumbling point between Washington and Moscow. Russia accuses the American authorities of trafficking crude oil from Syria, supporting its claims with relevant facts and evidence. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the American intelligence agencies and private military companies are engaged in smuggling oil from Syria. The oil smugglers are believed to make over $30 million per month. The Ministry submitted photo materials and documents confirming these actions. Earlier, the US announced its plans to send troops and tanks to Syria's eastern oil fields in order to protect them from militants, analysts say. After the release of the supporting documents, the Russian Defence Ministry announced its position on Syria, stating that all the country's resources, including oil fields, belong only to Syria. The department considers the US strategy illegal and violating international law. The images taken by the space intelligence of the Russian Ministry of Defense confirm that Syrian oil has been long time extracted by American oil producers and sent abroad for refining. Notably, Washington’s official position on Syria includes sanctions on oil supply from this country. Despite the sanctions, US troops and private military companies control the movement of fuel trucks from the Syrian oil fields, sending smuggled raw materials to other countries, the Ministry of Defence reports. Russian authorities emphasized that oil production in Syria is carried out with the help of equipment provided by Western corporations in circumvention of US sanctions. The profit from oil trafficking goes to the private accounts of American military companies with the help of different brokers, the department notes. One barrel of Syrian oil is worth $38, and the total revenue from the oil trafficking exceeds $30 million per month, the Ministry states.
