Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday accused Moscow of running a "Soviet propaganda machine" with lies straight out of the Pravda newspaper after Russian officials claimed Ankara traded oil with the "Islamic State" (ISIS) terrorist group in Syria, AFP reports.
Davutoglu, 56, said that Russia's comments reminded him of his youth when NATO member Turkey and the Soviet Union were on opposing sides in the Cold War.
"There was a Soviet propaganda machine in the Cold War era," Davutoglu told reporters at an Ankara airport before leaving for Azerbaijan on an official visit. "They were called Pravda lies," he said, referring to the daily newspaper that was the mouthpiece of the Communist Party.