Turkey and Britain are interested in pushing Russia out of the Caucasus – Dmitry Rodionov

Speaking with Alpha News, Director at the Center for Geopolitical Studies of the Institute of International Relations Dmitry Rodionov commented on Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s statement that Ankara will continue to work with Baku on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

“The reason why Turkey is trying to assume the role of the main moderator of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is to oust from the region or at least significantly reduce the influence of its main competitors, Russia and Iran. We must turn to history, because Transcaucasia has always been a region of direct competition between the Russian Empire, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. There were constant wars between them.

Now is the 21st century, and it is clear that civilized countries resolve their competition issues in slightly different ways. Still, this competition has not gone away. Turkey, of course, wants to connect its border directly with the main territory of Azerbaijan, reach the shores of the Caspian Sea, and then begin its expansion into Central Asia,” Rodionov said.

According to the expert, Turkey and Britain are interested in Russia not being present in the Caucasus region at all.

“Turkey is experiencing quite serious influence from the British special services, which have been using it for several years to strike at Russia’s interests in this region. And therefore, we cannot dismiss the fact that it is not only Turkey’s interest to push Russia out of the Caucasus but also London’s interest. Both Britain and Turkey are interested in Russia not being in this region at all. That is, this is competition for territory, competition for resources. For Turkey, it is not even Azerbaijan itself that is important, but access to Central Asia, access to Central Asian markets,” Rodionov concluded.