Monday, February 15 2021 12:56

ArmInfo.  After the defeat of the Armenian side in Artsakh, Turkey will try to increase pressure on Armenia in order to achieve the desired concessions. This opinion  was expressed in an interview with ArmInfo by a Turkologist, Doctor  of Historical Sciences, Academician, Director of the Institute of  Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic  of Armenia Ruben Safrastyan.

So, when asked to comment on the map of Turkey in 2050, circulated  earlier by the Turkish public TV channel, where all the countries of  the South Caucasus, as well as part of Russia, Ukraine and other  Central Asian states are part of the Turkish Republic, Safrastyan  recalled that this is not a new carat, and it was prepared has long  been US analysts.

The orientalist stressed that the map was taken from the materials of  the American private intelligence and analytical company Stratfor and  it shows the territories that, according to the company's forecasts,  will be under the influence of Turkey by 2050.

"However, I would like to state that the analytics of Stratfor  experts are usually quite superficial and they often represent  wishful thinking, relying on the data received from Turkish experts  and analysts. This map also reflects the pan-Turkic,  aggressive-expansionist sentiments of Turkey. the National Socialists  of Germany also painted in their time ", - said Safrastyan.   According to the expert, the published map also testifies to the  optimistic attitude of some US expert circles to the spread of  Turkish influence and expansion of the expansionist activities of  official Ankara.  On the other hand, according to the orientalist's  conviction, this map was drawn up with an incorrect assessment of the  analysis of the possibilities and resources of Turkey. "Today's  Turkey does not have geopolitical and resource opportunities for the  implementation of such a global project," Safrastyan stated, adding  that the expansionist policy pursued by the current authoritarian  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will face strong opposition  from the world community of nations and is unlikely to be able to be  actually continued by the next Turkish leadership.  At the same time,  the orientalist believes that, nevertheless, one must be careful with  this map, because it is no coincidence that it was shown on the  country's public television channel right now. "Today, both the  Turkish leadership and the wider public circles have concerns that  the new US administration, led by Joe Biden, may increase pressure on  Ankara because of its political course, and this card aims to enhance  the country's image and demonstrate its power. Thus, Ankara wants to  calm down the public, assuring that the American side supports us,  "the academician is convinced.  Meanwhile, Safrastyan believes that  Armenia should be seriously wary of all this, especially in the light  of recent events. "Of course, Armenia should be afraid, but not this  card anymore, but the policy that is being implemented by Turkey  today. The concept of pan-Turkism, pan-Turanism, neo-Ottomanism, an  aggressive policy towards its neighbors should cause us concern. I  believe that in the light of recent events in Artsakh, and the  position in which Armenia finds itself, the Turkish leadership will  try to take advantage of the situation and put pressure on Yerevan in  order to achieve the desired concessions, "Safrastyan said.  The  academician recalled that earlier he had already made public a purely  secret order of the commander of the Turkish Eastern Army Karabekir  Pasha at the beginning of the last century, in which the task was to  completely destroy the Armenians. "Of course, this was done at the  behest of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. But I am deeply convinced that today  Turkey continues to realize this goal. Ankara, together with Baku,  began to implement this program in Artsakh and would have completed  it if Russia had not intervened. The Armenians of Karabakh were would  either be completely physically exterminated, or, at best, deported  from Artsakh, if not for the intervention of Moscow, "the academician  said, adding that it was thanks to Russia and the agreements reached  with the personal mediation of Russian leader Vladimir Putin that it  was possible to prevent the implementation of this genocidal task in  Nagorno-Karabakh and the full expansion of the territories of  Artsakh.  Note that Russia also reacted to the replication of this  card. Thus, the first deputy head of the State Duma Defense  Committee, Alexander Sherin, called on Russia to take such forecasts  more seriously, noting also the self-confidence of the Turkish  authorities. "Turkey, after a successful operation in  Nagorno-Karabakh, absolutely believed in its own strength, and  therefore it officially indicates where it will go next," he told RIA  Novosti.  Sherin believes that the correct and cautious position of  Russia in bilateral relations was misunderstood, and Moscow should  have shown a tougher position on the issue of the downed Russian  plane, the Syrian settlement, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  In  turn, Andrei Krasov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense  Committee, noted that the Turkish leadership has thoughts about  rebuilding the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, he doubted that  Ankara would want to annex Russian territories by force. "As for  Crimea and Sevastopol, an end has been put on this issue, the  President spoke about this. These are two constituent entities of the  Russian Federation. As for other regions in the North Caucasus, you  should not open your mouth on someone else's top," the deputy said in  a comment to the radio station "Moscow Says ".  Krasov also called on  Turkish officials to study the history of Russia more closely. "If  they want to test the strength of the Russian spirit and our weapons  on themselves, let them try," the parliamentarian concluded.  In  turn, State Duma deputy Pavel Shperov said on the air of Duma TV that  Turkey has never hidden its ambitions in relation to Crimea, and the  country's political circles are seriously discussing the issue of  annexing the peninsula. "It is clear that the Turkish side really  wants to return the zone of influence that it had three centuries  ago, maybe even seize some territories, but I do not think that this  can be seriously discussed in any way," the deputy said.  Shperov  urged to be ready for anything and added that Ankara always pays  attention to the statements of Russian politicians. He expressed the  opinion that the Russian Foreign Ministry should react to the map  shown by the Turkish state TV channel.  As a reminder, various  Turkish media outlets, including the Takvim daily newspaper and the  Haber TV channel, have published images of a map taken from Stratfor  materials. It depicts areas that the company predicts will be  directly influenced by Turkey by 2050. Thus, according to Stratfor,  Ankara can strengthen its positions in North Africa, the Balkans, the  Middle East, Transcaucasia, Central Asia, as well as in various  regions of Russia (North Caucasus, Crimea, Krasnodar and Stavropol  Territories, Astrakhan and Rostov regions, Kalmykia, etc. .). In  addition, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, UAE,  Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Greece and Cyprus may be under the  influence of Turkey. In this context, we should also mention  Erdogan's statement about Turkey's belonging to Jerusalem, which was  successfully "swallowed" by the Israeli leadership.