ArmInfo. The interests of Russia and Turkey in the South Caucasus are mostly contradictory; Dean of YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan expressed a similar opinion ArmInfo.
"In general, these interests are at different poles. The matter concerns the events and impulses around Armenia, of course, Nakhijevan, and all other regional actors. And, in my opinion, the contradictions and oppositions serving the interests of Moscow and Ankara in our region will continue. "It should be noted here that the ongoing warming in Russian-Turkish relations in no way affects their entire vast spectrum. The matter concerns exclusively about economic and military-industrial cooperation," he emphasized.
At this stage, according to the expert's estimates, when the geopolitical component of relations between Moscow and Ankara is considered, especially those affecting Armenia, wider South Caucasus and the Greater Middle, the interests of Russia and Turkey's are opposite. In his opinion, this in no way means that Armenia should not worry, since during the big geopolitical games of big players, the interests of smaller players are usually very easily violated. In this light, Armenia, in his opinion, needs to be ready and protect its own interests in every possible way, including diplomatic one.
According to Melkonyan, the latest events in Syria with the participation of the Turkish army are directly related to Armenia, given the observed clash of interests of allied and unfriendly countries of Armenia. And this, not to mention the problems of the Armenian community in Syria, the Armenian cultural factor, etc. In this light, Melkonyan believes that Ankara's destructive position and views regarding Armenia at any moment can shift from a theoretical to a practical level. Including in the case of Nakhijevan. "Being a country with imperial ambitions, Turkey will always try to promote these ambitions and its interests, including through the occupation of different territories. I hope that the conflicting interests of Turkey and Russia will continue to lead to the opposite steps by Moscow. The other day we clearly saw this in Syria. In my opinion, Russia remains and will continue to be the main balancer of Turkish aspirations and claims in the region surrounding Armenia, "Melkonyan summed up.