Giro Manoyan: The greatest danger for Armenia in strengthening  Russian-Turkish relations is that over time they can become strategic

ArmInfo. The fact that the first visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin after re-election was to Turkey, is not a cause for concern for Armenia, although this fact  can not cause much pleasure.  The head of the Hay Dat office and  political issues of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau Giro Manoyan said  this at a press conference on April 7.

At the same time, he noted that during the Putin-Erdogan meeting they  were not discussed issues concerning Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.  "Therefore  it is unlikely that in a similar situation Turkey decided  to defend interests of Azerbaijan. However, we need to be vigilant  and constantly to monitor what Moscow and Ankara are talking about,  "the politician stressed.

Manoyan noted that after the meeting of the leaders of Russia and  Turkey, another meeting took place, this time in a trilateral format,  at which the Iranian president was present. "The fact that after the  Putin-Erdogan meeting the meeting with the Iranian president was also  not a very good signal, however, all three sides have their own  interests both in the regional plan and in the Syrian issue, and if  in some way they and reached a consensus, then in other issues, there  are quite significant contradictions between them, "the head of the  Hay Dat office said.

Manoyan stressed that Iran, Turkey and Russia are interested in the  territorial integrity of Syria. Although, in his opinion, Ankara  shows cunning in the issue of territorial integrity. "Think for  yourself, Turkey has already invaded Afrin and settled comfortably on  this territory." Moreover, I want to note that the invasion of Syria  was quite difficult, but Turkey still took this step. "What could  have led her to such actions? Of course, that Turkey always had  territorial claims against Syria, and now, having carried out this  invasion, I doubt that Ankara will surrender so easily and leave the  territory of Syria, "the politician said.

According to Manoyan, the most dangerous for Armenia, in  strengthening Russian-Turkish relations, is that over time they can  become strategic. "In this case, such cooperation will cost us  dearly, since Russia is Armenia's strategic partner," he noted,  noting that there are many contradictions between Russia and Turkey  on the same Syrian issue. In particular, Russia is a supporter of  Syria's remaining President Bashar Assad while Turkey is against  Assad's presidency. "However, at the same time, both sides are  against strengthening the Kurds in Syria and their cooperation with  the United States," Manoyan said, adding that it is not yet clear  whether the contradictions in the Syrian issue will lead to a cooling  of Russian-Turkish relations. a split in cooperation, or vice versa,  whether this cooperation becomes more active. "In any case, we should  monitor the situation, and not allow too close a rapprochement,"  concluded Manoyan.