Turkey wants to expand influence throughout Caucasus

PanARMENIAN.Net - After the Georgian conflict, each Caucasus country will seek to expand influence in the region, a Russian expert said.



"Russia, Turkey and Iran have activated. But their goals are different, of course. Turley proceeds from historic, political and economic interests. Iran's task is more complicated. It has to prove its being a full-fledged member of the international community," Alexander Sotnichenko, senior lecturer at St. Petersburg State University, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.



Turkey needs normal relations with Armenia, specifically for transportation of energy resources, according to him. "I have numerously repeated that the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project is extremely expensive and inconvenient. Thus, Turkey will benefit if it goes through Armenia," he said, adding that Russia must not abandon the region.