Turkey Tries to Play Mediator Role in South Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey is trying to replace Russia in the South Caucasus, Ruben Safrastyan the head of the Department of Turkey of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, told journalists. "Turkey is trying to play a mediator role in the South Caucasus, including in settlement of the Karabakh issue," he said when commenting on foreign political developments in Armenia during the Caucasus 2005 international conference in Yerevan.



According to the expert, Turkey has already submitted a serious application for enhancing its role in the region's geopolitics, based on its partnership relations with the NATO first of all, however it did not get Washington's approval at the moment. However, in the expert's opinion, in the future Turkey can play a more active role in the South Caucasus, taking into account its involvement in Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan largest regional oil pipeline project, as well as the location of the county. "Turkey is a "bridge" between Europe and Asia and this cannot be disregarded," Ruben Safrastyan said, reports Novosti Armenia.