The countries in the Middle East and North Africa are coming into a new stage of political development, Ruben Safrastyan, Head of the Institute for Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Science of Armenia, told reporters on Tuesday.
According to him, starting from the Arab spring up to the recent times, the Middle East and North Africa were in the process of transformation and chaos, but the situation has changed lately. "Now, the future of Middle East and North Africa is taking shape," he said. Safrastyan brings a number of factors indicating at those changes: the processes in Iraq, presidential elections in Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad proved that he enlists the people's support, as well as the developments in Libya and the presidential election in Egypt.
Safrastyan believes that Syria will survive the civil war and Assad's power will continue, though some transformations are still possible.
According to the orlientalist, the latest developments in Iraq - attacks by militants - may collapse the country. Libya may also face a collapse. As for Egypt, the defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi's coming to power create certain preconditions for stabilization.
At the same time, Safrastyan thinks that Turkey has a great part in formation of the new Middle East. However, Turkey's policy is so far unpredictable.
"The militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are supported with arms from the territory of Turkey, which means that Ankara is directly involved in the processes in Iraq," Safrastyan said.