Turkey won’t launch a war against Syria, however, a special operation to overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s regime is not ruled out, an Armenian Turkologist said, commenting on the ongoing anti-governmental protests in Syria.

As Artak Shakaryan told a news conference in Yerevan, Turkey will resort to the measure only with NATO support and if approved by the Arab world.

“Ousting Iran out of the region or increasing its influence in Syria, should opposition come to power, are among Turkey’s main goals,” Shakaryan said.

“Iran’s response may be harsh, yet the country will never start an open confrontation, increasing support to Kurdish militants at the very best,” the expert concluded.