Friday, October 25 2019 16:11

ArmInfo.  Despite the agreement  on Syria, the Turkish side faces very serious problems, taking into  account the ongoing clashes with the Kurds. Director of the Institute  of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia  Ruben Safrastyan stated this at a press conference on October 25.

Speaking about the talks between Presidents of Russia and Turkey  Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan that took place on October 22  in Sochi, Safrastyan noted that he does not exclude the possibility  of discussing the security of Armenians, including those living in  Hamshen. On the one hand, the expert acknowledged that neither  Russian nor Turkish leaders openly stated that this topic was raised  during the negotiations. However, it was during this period that  information was circulated that Resolution N296 on the recognition of  the Armenian Genocide would be put to a vote in the US House of  Representatives.  According to Safrastyan, this coincidence is not  accidental, and indicates that both the United States and Russia keep  the Armenian issue in the spotlight. "This is an exceptional  historical phenomenon that should be taken into account by us," he  said.

As for the agreements reached between Russia and Turkey on Syria,  here, according to Safrastyan both parties benefited. So, it is  planned to introduce units of the Russian military police and the  Syrian border service on the Syrian side of the Syrian-Turkish border  outside the zone of operation "Source of Peace", which has obvious  advantages for Russia. As for Turkey, even though the agreement will  allow preserving the "security zone" within Syria about 120 km long,  in the future the Turkish side will face very serious problems,  taking into account the ongoing clashes with the Kurds.  To recall,  from October 9, Turkey has been conducting Operation Source of Peace  in northeast Syria against Kurdish units, during which the Turkish  side was accused of attacks on civilians. Washington and Ankara on  October 17 agreed to suspend Turkey's military operation for 120  hours and withdraw Kurdish formations from the 30-kilometer buffer  zone on the Turkish-Syrian border. On October 22, after the adoption  of a memorandum of understanding by Moscow and Ankara, the Turkish  "Source of Peace" operation in Syria was suspended. Meanwhile,  Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the operation was not  over and that the army was ready to strike the Kurds "if  necessary".