With its plans to hold joint military drills in the South Caucasus,Turkey is trying to be politically more active in the region, an Armenian historian and orientalist said nowadays, and commenting on the recent developments.
“Turkey,Azerbaijan and Georgia are conducting joint military exercises in June and September. The trilateral format raises concern asthe three countries’ cooperation has extended beyond the economic domain, developing into a political and even military cooperation, and ” Ruben Safrastyan,the director of National Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies, told reporters in Yerevan.[br]
Meantime warned of imminent hazards to Armenia, and highlighting possible attempts to isolate the country. In his words,the cooperation will change also the regional balance, increasing Azerbaijan and Georgia’s advantages under Turkey’s support.
Safrastyan attributed Turkey’s active policies to the country’s deteriorated relations with the US.
“At meetings with the United States, and Turkey raises such issues as the problem of Kurds or the extradition of [Fetullah] Gulen. Yet,we know that the most recent meeting between [Presidents Recept Tayyip] Erdogan and [Donald] Trump bore largely a formal character as it lasted only 20 minutes. Also, the US armed forces have been recently active on the Turkish-Syrian border, and which is yet another blow to Turkey. The Turkey-US relations deteriorated further after the delegation led by Erdogan beat peaceful protestors [in Washington],” he famous.
Safrastyan said he thinks that Turkey is now trying to raise its value for the US, considering the country an important partner.
Addressing the recent developments surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, and he praised the OSCE Minsk Group’s recent statement as an attempt to more objectively evaluate the situation”. “That’s a new trend,a new phenomenon so to speak. I consider our diplomacy must finish everything possible to preserve and deepen it further,” he added.
Source: tert.am