ArmInfo.Considering that the Russian military presence in Armenia significantly limits the ambitions of Recep Erdogan, Turkey today seeks to level the role and importance of Russia in Armenia. Vahe Davtyan, Doctor of Political Sciences, expressed this opinion to ArmInfo.
"Along with the consistent build-up of Turkish influence in Georgia, this is part of Ankara's strategy to oust Russia beyond the Caucasus ridge. And the beginning of this strategy, apparently, was laid as a result of the referendum on the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014. It was Crimea that prompted Turkey to a radical revision of the existing strategy at that time, to the search for new ways to strengthen their positions in the Black Sea basin, "he stressed.
Thus, the expert considers Turkish support for Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh and Armenia as part of Ankara's policy towards Moscow, transformed after Crimea. In this sense, Artsakh, according to his estimates, is a continuation of Crimea, because by provoking a war in Artsakh, Turkey creates an opportunity to oust Russia from the South Caucasus.
According to Davtyan, the importance of the South Caucasus in ensuring and further diversifying communications between the Caspian and Black Seas, between Turkey and Central Asia is indisputable. The expert examines the reasons for Ankara's interest in the success of the Azerbaijani aggression against the Armenian people in this particular geopolitical context.
"The signing in Ankara by the President of Ukraine and Erdogan of an agreement on military cooperation in the conditions of the war in Artsakh is far from accidental. It is also no coincidence that Zelensky voiced the hope that Turkey will play a role in resolving the Crimean issue. historical criteria, and mainly business interests. Meanwhile, how the preservation of influence exclusively through trade and economic relations has long given way to a conditional, but very real, clash of civilizations, "concluded Davtyan.