Friday, August 7 2015 12:05

The U.S. president has allowed Pentagon to employ the aviation for safety purposes of the so-called U.S.-supported new Syrian army. The Turkish aviation that officially hunts down Islamic State insurgents often “accidentally” hits the Syrian Kurds. It seems the U.S. have decided to get into Syria through a window given that the door is closed. Don’t you think that this threatens to fully destabilize the situation in the region next to Armenia?

 

 

 

There is such a menace; nevertheless, I can't help mentioning that nothing has changed as a matter of fact. Washington officially supports Turkey's intention to bomb the IS positions and slams the strikes against the Kurdish settlements, but at the same time, the US unofficially allows the Turks to fight the Kurds. So, Americans use both Turks and Kurds for their own purposes. To dot all the "i"s, one should understand that not only the US but also Israel - its ally number one in the Middle East - are the key enemies of Syria. In this light, any impulses in that region always meet the interests of the close Israel-US tandem and are directed against the positions of the Arab world and Iran. The lack of problems between Israel and various streams of radical Islam is quite noteworthy. The United States, in turn, has almost no problems with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq or Kuwait. The only loophole through which the United States' allies and Israel can penetrate into Syria is the inter-religious discrepancies between the 4% Syrian Alawis and 96% Sunnis. In this light, I would recall that Washington and Tel Aviv successfully played Shia- Sunni discrepancies in Iraq and even in Lebanon. 

 

 Did you not mention Iran deliberately when you said that Syria was in the US-Israeli tandem’s way?

 

I believe that the main target of the US and Israel is Iran. As regards Syria, it is just a way to weaken that powerful country that has a strong influence in both Syria and Iraq. Turkey - the traditional ally of Israel- is the fifth wheel that starts rotating as soon as a real threat to the Jewish state emerges.  The Islamic State is a 100% US-Israeli project and combating the Islamic State is naturally not the final goal of that tandem and its ally Turkey. The US will combat the IS within a few days if it wants. This has not been done yet, because the US and Israel keep using international terrorism to destroy Syria, take control of the Iraqi Shias and weaken Iran. This is why Teheran is trying to keep Bashar al-Assad at power because it perfectly understands that the toppling of Assad will turn Iran into a geopolitical island.

 

What other forces stand in the way of the aforementioned geopolitical projects besides Syria, Iran and Russia?

Syria is a part of the axis comprising countries that do not obey the United States.  The matter concerns Russia, Iran, India and China, which are a kind of new Great Chinese Wall. The US needs to weaken these disobedient countries by delivering a serious blow to the "Wall". Today Syria is the theater of global clashes of the forces, which are on the opposite sides of the "wall". In case the Assad regime is toppled, not a single Armenia will remain in Syria. The ISIS will annihilate even the small kids. The Armenian authorities should take this into account in their foreign policy, particularly, in the relations with the US. The US cares for neither the Syrian Armenians nor the Syrians themselves.  They have only one goal in Syria - to put puppets at power no matter who the puppets are

 

A famous Russian political analyst has predicted ISIS threats for Armenia and Artsakh. As a starting point he mentioned Turkey. Do you agree with this?

 

A year ago my forecasts that Armenia may send troops to defend the Aliyev regime against the ISIS in the future made the journalists smile. Today, however, the ISIS includes over 10,000 Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis, Chechens, Avars and other representatives of the Islamic world that has a common border with our region.  Baku has turned into a terminal point for the Islamist mercenaries heading for Syria and Iraq. If Islamist radicalism representatives come to power in Azerbaijan, Armenia will face a serious external threat.  Such authorities will immediately undertake aggression against Artsakh. In that case even Ilham Aliyev will be more acceptable to Armenia than a power based on Wahhabism. Has anyone in Armenia considered that scenario? I do not think so.

 

Can it be said that in the current situation Russia is Armenia’s #1 ally?

 

It is the reality, whether we like it or not, there is no alternative to it. I do not think that Russia is conducting an allied policy aimed at developing Armenia. For Russia Armenia is just a political pawn and the situation has not changed over the past few centuries.

 

 

Still…

 

Nevertheless, the Military Cooperation Treaty signed in 1995 ties our hands but at least ensures Armenia's security with the help of Russian frontier guards and the 102nd military base. Otherwise, Turkey would be able to cook Armenia's goose within hours. However, the lack of alternative does not mean that Armenia should not look for it given that the complementary policy remains an efficient option. Russia should take this into account when selling military hardware to Azerbaijan.

 

How will Washington benefit from handing Artsakh to Azerbaijan?

It is a matter of ramping up pressure on Iran. Why would the U.S. need such a huge embassy building in a small country like Armenia? What is Israel looking for in Azerbaijan? This whole powerful system is operating towards Iran; it is tracking every possible type of information. Tehran’s only breathing holes are U.S.-military-base-free Armenia and Artsakh. The authorities in Tehran do understand this. This is why the Americans keep urging to deploy “peacemakers” in Artsakh. In that case the Americans will find themselves on the border with Iran disguised as NATO peace contingent with all that they will entail. We should realize this and make smart moves. No one knows what changes the world will see within those 10 years that have been allocated for the implementation of all the UN Security Council’s resolution paragraphs on the settlement of the so-called Iranian problem. Therefore, the situation today is even more uncertain than it was yesterday. 

 

Well then, we trust neither the Americans nor the Russians. Europe hardly plays any role in safety arrangements on the South Caucasian territory. How can Armenia neutralize the risks and threats against Artsakh independence?

 

First of all, Armenia should rely on its own powers and abilities. The Armenians should understand that we have not been destroyed for the first time in history, we have not lost our lands, and we have them back. The whole nation should hold on to what belongs to us only and strengthen it. In case Armenia is sure that only it has the right to hold Artsakh, Russia, the U.S., moreover, Turkey or Azerbaijan will never deprive us of our property. Armenia and Diaspora should consider every single threat case against Artsakh as a menace for the whole Armenian world. In the 90s we set 27 Artsakh villages free. We suffered no losses back then for we were sure those villages were a part of our motherland, we knew we had been deprived of those lands. We knew for sure that Artsakh was Armenia. If the U.S. believes that Artsakh is not Armenia, it is their problem not ours. We simply invoked the right of nations to self-determination. We live in our home and we do not want any other tenants in there.