Turkey-Syria conflict ‘opportunity for Armenia’ to step up national security – analyst

^{David Sargsyan}

The increasing tensions between Turkey and Syria in the wake of recent military hostitlities should be a good opportunity for Armenia to embark on upgrading its national security, according to Levon Shrininyan, a doctor and professor of political science.

In an interview with Armnews TV Channel on Monday, he called for active efforts by the country’s politico-military leadership to strengthen the positions in the direction of Nakhicevan and push further ahead with the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) peace process. “With the Turkish army facing problems now, the General Headquarters of our [Armed Forces] need to increasingly intensify their work,” he said.

Shirinyan also called attention to Russia's certain dependence upon Armenia, considering it a good occasion for the country to raise issues relating to the 102nd military base in Gyumri.  

The expert said he also believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally sees the urgency of revising his country’s relations with Armenia. “What matters is to substitute the vassal relationship with Russia in the CSTO for a real alliance. And that process, by definition, is now successfully going on,” he said, blaming the Russia authorities for "being behind" the 2016 April offensives in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).

Addressing the unsettled Armenian-Azerbaijani land dispute, Shirinyan praised Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s thesis proposing a universally acceptable and perceivable solution (considering also the opinion of the Azerbaijani people). “The Artsakh issue has only a military solution. Nobody in Armenia thinks negotiations can pave the way to a settlement. The issues could have been resolved in two cases, i.e. – either in 1994 - if our army had headed towards Yevlakh [Azerbaijan] - or during the April war when our attack was halted.”

Shirinyan also shared his views on the problem of immigration, insisting on the urgency of repatriation in “revolutionary Armenia” but agreeing at the same time that the process should be "within the realm of morality and logic". He also warned against the possible weakening of the Armenian community in Syria.