YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS: The actions, initiated by the Turkish authorities, against the Islamic State from one hand and the Kurdistan Workers' Party from the other hand, lead to the conclusion that the actions of the official Ankara are agreed with the United States. The Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, turkologist Ruben Safrastyan told Armenpress about it, telling about the reasons of the events taking place in the domestic political life of Turkey and touching upon their possible impact on Armenia.

- After the terrorist act in the city of Suruç in Turkey, the Turkish authorities, joining the coalition, headed by the United States of America, took up active actions against the Islamic State, meanwhile it is known that formerly they supported the Islamists, providing them with the territory of the country as a transit zone for terrorists. Can we believe the Turkey’s sincerity, which is now against the Islamic State?

- Turkey does not show any sincerity but solves its problems in the first place, as it has been for two years that the Turkish state tries to establish a so-called security zone upon Syria, occupying the border territories of Syria. The United States of America was against this wish of Turkey, but during the negotiations, held several weeks ago, when a high-ranking US delegation arrived in Turkey, the United States finally gave Turkey this permission and only after that Turkey agreed to give the United States one of its military stations to strike on the Islamic State armed forces. And thus, it began taking part in the military actions against the Islamic State.

- What consequences will the current unstable situation in Turkey and the yet unformed government have on the country?

- The situation leads to untimely parliamentary elections. As by August 23 it would not be possible to form the government, that is the reason why the early parliamentary elections will be held in November. This fact leaves its mark on Turkey’s politics, especially the Kurdish issue. The thing is that in 2013 the Turkish government reached an agreement with the Kurdistan Workers' Party that the Kurdish issue should be developed in a peaceful way. In the result the famous Peoples Democratic Party was established, which managed to use the situation and enter the parliament. I think it was an unexpected step for the Turkish authorities, as they thought that the party would not be able to get into the parliament. That is why by the new parliamentary elections, the authorities will try to possibly weaken the positions of the Kurdish party.

- What impact could have these developments in the neighboring country on Armenia?

- The processes taking place in Turkey cannot have any impact on us, as they are taking place in the opposite part of the country, which proves that Turkey’s attention is centralized on its southern borders and the Middle East crisis. This means that in the nearest future Turkey will show no diplomatic activity in our region.

Interview by Anahit Minasyan