Syrian Armenian community’s decline in number and power is in Turkey’s interests, representative of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences said.

“Radical Islamists’ coming to power will significantly impair the community’s condition, bringing about a security problem,” Vahram Ter-Matevosyan said.

The Syrian conflict has claimed between 14,000 and 20,000 lives since March 2011, according to estimates by various opposition groups and the UN. The West is pushing for Assad’s ouster, while Russia and China are trying to prevent outside interference in the country, claiming the Assad regime and the opposition are both to blame for the bloodshed.