Turkey must know violating Armenia’s air space implies punishment by Armenia - Andranik Mihranyan

In an interview with Tert.am political scientist Andranik Mihranyan said that Turkey should be aware that it may be punished from Armenia’s territory should it violate Armenia’s air space.

He is severely critical of the Armenian experts claiming that Russia is playing the Armenian card in the Russia-Turkey confrontation.

Mr Mihranyan, has the Russia-Turkey confrontation come to its end or should is escalation be expected? What can be expected beside economic sanctions?

It is not an easy question. On the one hand, the relations may even worsen – preconditions for that are available in any case. Turkey is complaining about Russian warplanes violating its air space and Russia being inclined to confrontation. On the other hand, this conformation has its limits. If Turkey were not a NATO member-state, Russia could have taken severe punitive measures against it. But as a NATO member-state, feel more secure. Nevertheless, the confrontation has grave consequences. I have recently seen hotels on sale in Antalya and in other resorts because that economy chiefly operated due to Russian tourists.

It first of all involves us as a country that has a common border with Turkey. Especially in the context of the talks about the Russian defense minister’s secret visit to the Russian military base here in Armenia. Moreover, the base has lately been actively supplied with MI-24P and MI-8MT helicopters. According to some opinions it is being done in case a bad scenario unfolds because Russian-Turkish conflicts result in Armenians losing their lands.

Armenian society must realize that Armenia can by no means come into conflict with Turkey – an 80-million-strong, rapidly developing state, with a huge military machine. So but for Russian guarantees, Armenia cannot place its hope on any other state or organization – the United States or Great Britain or NATO. This being so, I personally stated both in Washington and in Moscow that, should a Turkish warplane violate Armenia’s air space, the Russian or Armenian air-defense forces may  down the Turkish plane, and Turkey is the only side that will have to assume the responsibility for such an incident. I am speaking of downing of a would-be violator plane from Armenia’s territory.

Do you think it may have unpredictable consequences for us?

On the contrary, they should know that Armenia’s border must not be violated. They stated they had downed a Russian warplane that violated Turkey’s air space from Syria, did not they? So if a Turkish warplane violates Armenia’s air space, it must be downed because Armenia is part of a system that forms an alliance with Russia and other nations. So they should know they can be punished. They should know it is not a border to be violated with impunity. Last autumn Turkish warplanes violated Armenia’s air space. But they should have been downed for Turkey to realize it is another state with its own borders. I am not at all advocating Armenian-Turkish confrontation, but Turkey is behaving with impudence. Therefore, they must know disciplinary measures can be taken against them. This is not only Armenia’s territory, but is also a territory of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which is being defended – by Russia as well.