ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER NOT TO BE OPENED BEFORE NEXT APRIL, STRATFOR ANALYST SAYS
news.am
Dec 28 2009
Armenia
The Armenian-Trkish border will not be reopened before next
April, the STRATFOR analyst Marko Papic said in his interview with
1news.az. Turkey is a key player in the region, and much depends on
what it is doing. If Turkey goes on normalizing its relations with
Armenia without prior consultations with Azerbaijan, it may cause a
serious crisis next year, Papic said.
According to him, the Nagorno-Karabakh problems will be a key
regional problem next year. Numerous disagreements over the Caucasus
are emerging at the global level. Nagorno-Karabakh may prove to be a
justification for a conflict similar to one that occurred in Bosnia
province just before World War I in 1914, Papic said.
According to him, it depends on whether Turkey wants to strike a
deal with Armenia without Azerbaijan being involved and whether
Russia allows Azerbaijan to make use of its military advantage to
get Nagorno-Karabakh back. As regards forecasts for next year, Papic
pointed out that Turkey is filling its niche in the world and turning
from a regional player into a global one.
Turkey’s "moves" towards Armenia are deigned to expand its influence
over the Caucasus and father, Central Asia, Papic said.
As regards Iran, he pointed out that, if the United States is planning
to stifle Teheran by means of petrol sanctions, it must make sure
that other states, that is Russia, will not supply oil by means of
alternative routes (though Azerbaijan or Turkey). If the United States
continues applying sanctions without Russia’s consent, Azerbaijan may
turn into the main route for supplying petrol to Iran, which is fraught
with disagreements between Washington and Moscow, as well as with Baku.