YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. By linking the Kurdish factor with Armenians, Turkey and Azerbaijan try to solve a number of problems. First, they want to drop Armenia’s reputation presenting it as a country supporting terrorism. Head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations of YSU Vahram Petrosyan told about this in a press conference at “Armenpress” media hall. In his words, it was still 1993, when Turkey for the first time mentioned that the PKK (The Kurdistan Workers' Party) has bases in Nagorno Karabakh. In 2000s this same theory started to be circulated already by Azerbaijan.

“By linking the Kurdish factor with Armenians, Turkey tries to exert pressure on Armenia, so as the latter assumes the role of a defender. Besides, by speculating the Kurdish factor, Turkey wants to find justifications and reasons for its interference in developments in Karabakh.  Interestingly, the old materials of the alleged links between Kurds and Armenians in February started to be circulated in a fresh way, and already in April another information that allegedly 400 Kurds were fighting together with Armenians, started to be circulated”, Vahram Petrosyan said.

As refers to the reaction of Kurdish organizations to the developments in Karabakh in early April, Vahram Petrosyan noted that they were either neutral or pro-Armenian. Moreover, the Kurdish side even announced that Azerbaijan attempts to occupy the territories of Nagorno Karabakh. Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş condemned Azerbaijan, for which there are rumors in Turkey that a lawsuit is being prepared to be filed against him.

Referring to the provocative measures by Azerbaijan on the contact line, Vahram Petrosyan mentioned that the developments on the contact line were in the interests of great powers in a short term perspective, but it would be vice the versa in case of a full-scale war.

“In case of short term operations great powers bring forward some issues, such as the issue of withdrawing Turkey from the Minsk Group, or the issue of deploying Russian peacekeepers, as well as facing Russia a dilemma by the USA. In this context, I have to mention that we managed to retain balance”, Vahram Petrosyan said.