Russia is not interested in Turkey’s strengthening in region — Vasily Koltashov

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian political scientist Vasily Koltashov commented on the statements by Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu about the so-called “Zangezur corridor”.

“Russia is not interested in Turkey’s strengthening in the region, especially since this means war in the future because of old contradictions between Turkey and Iran.
Therefore, it is fundamentally important for Russia that Turkey mainly benefits here as a sender and recipient of goods, but not as a guarantor, player, or participant in the process. Moreover, Armenia will not be satisfied with any Turkish presence in this matter, and this will only lead to further escalation.
Hence, the interest is that, if such a project is to be implemented, it should be implemented with a guarantee from Russia or maybe Iran if part of the corridor is through the territory of Iran.

In any case, Russia’s interest in the region consists of three points. The first is to avoid a military conflict. The second is to ensure the development of trade. And the third point is to eliminate the influence of the West as a whole in the region,” Koltashov said.

According to him, Turkey is an unreliable partner with which there are many difficulties, as well as with Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan and Turkey seek to gradually weaken the influence of Russia and Iran in the region. And Turkey will always be able to sell its position to the West. Always. That is, despite the fact that Turkey is a state where Erdogan makes decisions—it is autonomous in relation to the West, it has its own policy—Erdogan is a politician of bargaining, a politician of the bazaar, that is, he will sell something to you today, and tomorrow he will sell you to someone. In this sense, of course, Turkey is a very difficult partner for Russia, and as a result, Azerbaijan is also a difficult partner,” the expert concluded.