Ruben Melkonyan: Turkey’s actions always targeted Armenians

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. Turkey’s actions in the region do not fit within any logic. Expert in Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan expressed such an opinion in an interview with “Armenpress”.

-Mr. Melkonyan, which are Turkey’s current interests in Aleppo? Can they be regarded as a response to the announcement of US Department of State over Syrian Kurds?

- Turkey’s actions in the region do not fit within any logic. Turkish president takes steps that escalate already escalated situation in the Middle East. Besides, Turkey’s actions are in contradiction with the military alliance, NATO, of which Turkey is a member. It creates rather serious problems for its strategic allies, particularly for the USA. By these steps Turkey leads to rapid and irreversible extreme escalation of the situation, pregnant with serious consequences for the region, including itself. Turkey’s actions must be observed in the context of Erdoğan’s personal ambitions. The opinion that Erdoğan’s regional interests based on calculations are significantly in contradiction goes deeper today. Erdoğan brought forward numerous small and major problems for his country. Some of those problems go beyond regional perceptions and are viewed as the start of extremely complicated global developments.

-Do you find it possible that Turkey will launch ground operations? Or this is an attempt to win some more political dividends prior to the ceasefire declaration?

-The option of ground operations is, let’s say, 50% possible. It the Turkish authorities are guided by tactical calculations of the Turkish army and Command Staff, I think ground forces will not invade into Syria. It is clear that this will cause serious consequences. But if Erdoğan’s adventurous approaches prevail, it is possible that an invasion will occur. This will further escalate the situation and will cause developments of other form. The developments in Syria, as well as Saudi Arabia’s and Turkey’s announcements over the possibility of invading that country have been slammed by Russia and Iran. These announcements will turn into practical steps in case of military actions.

-What are the possible threats that local Armenians will face in case Turkish troops invade Syria?

-Turkish actions always kept Armenians under target in the context of major games. We witnessed how the Armenian community in Kessab became a target for Turkish militants and its allies. If Turkey wages large-scale operations in Syria, they will confidently target Armenians, Armenian heritage, and the Armenian presence in general. Even today, when Turkey bombs Aleppo from its territory, it can sometimes target some Armenian populated regions. This is one of Turkey’s classical political methods.

Anna Gziryan