Baku and Ankara’s demands imply the end of the Armenian state – Alexey Anpilogov

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Alexey Anpilogov commented on the meeting between Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, held on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

“The positions voiced by Azerbaijan and Turkey imply either a very serious limitation of Armenia’s sovereignty and a violation of its territorial integrity, or, in the short term, the end of a de facto independent Armenian state on its current territory. It is clear from the statements of Baku and Ankara that they perceive Armenia as a mere bridge on a long route from Ankara almost to Yakutia and in this project of a greater Turan, which from some marginal maps is increasingly turning into a geopolitical project.

Ankara is seriously promoting this project in a large area of Eurasia and hopes to receive from it not only some cultural or abstract political benefits but also to create specific economic, political unions, perhaps even military unions.

And, of course, in this regard, Armenia is the cornerstone that is holding this large pan-Turkic project back from its practical implementation, because Turkey is still isolated from the greater part of the Turkic world, including Turkic-speaking Central Asia and Azerbaijan. And this barrier created by Iranian and Armenian territories prevents Ankara from fulfilling its geopolitical ambitions.

If this barrier is dismantled—Armenia being the most vulnerable link—Turkey will assume a vastly different position. It could then block interaction, for example, between Russia and Iran, interaction in the Transcaucasian region and dictate its terms to other players in this big Eurasian chess game,” Anpilogov said.

According to the expert, the Armenian people must defend their right to their own state, culture, religion and their place in the future history of humanity.

“I wish the Armenian people only political, historical, and civilizational courage—essential for preserving their right to their own state, culture, religion and, in general, their place in the future history of humanity. Otherwise, the Armenian people may not exist, much like the Armenian identity has vanished from the territory of modern Turkey,” Anpilogov concluded.