Ankara may reach referendum to annex Idlib and Aleppo — Mher Abrahamyan

 
Turkey, with its “democratic” methods, can make the Syrian population perceive it as its savior, Turkologist Mher Abrahamyan told Alpha News.

“From the first day of Turkey’s actions in Syria, it was clear that Erdogan was trying to take it over. Since the world order, international relations, and the legal system are different now, Erdogan is trying to take over Syria in other ways. At various meetings and conferences at the UN, he said he wanted to turn Syria into a good state, but in subsequent statements we see his ambitions and the promotion of neo-Ottoman ideology. In the case of Syria, Turkey can use so-called ‘democratic’ methods to ensure that the population of today’s Syria accepts Turkey as a savior.

Then it may achieve a referendum in Aleppo, as a result of which Idlib and Aleppo will join Turkey. In the case of Syria, the classic neo-Ottoman policy is in effect. It was introduced in the 1980s by Turgut Ozal, whose follower is Erdogan. We see the pan-Turkic plans of the same Turgut Ozal around the ‘Zangezur corridor’ and Armenia,” the Turkologist noted.

According to Abrahamyan, what happened in Syria is the result of Turkish-Israeli cooperation.

“I believe there was Turkish-Israeli cooperation in Syria, as a result of which Turkey was able to achieve Assad’s fall and the deployment of its forces there. Israel took advantage of this opportunity and was able to reach the heights it had wanted to capture since the early 1970s, when Assad’s father came to power and, with the help of the Soviet Union, was able to achieve a truce with Israel.

Immediately after Assad’s fall, Israel annulled all the treaties and occupied the heights it needed. In my opinion, Turkey cooperated with Israel here, and in the future we will see whether the cooperation between them will continue or not, because the long-term goals of both are to divide Syrian territory, expand their own territories, and create various security zones,” Abrahamyan concluded.