Hayastani Hanrapeutyun: Armenia 'restraining shield' against Pan-Turkism and Neo-Ottomanism

The ongoing developments in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) resolve not only regional but also geopolitical issues, a Yerevan-based political analyst, Alen Ghevondyan, said Saturday, describing Turkey's current policies as a global challenge aiming to establish "a new geopolitical reality".

"Turkey is virtually submiting a bid to Russia, which pursues vital interests in our region in an attempt to embark upon processes that could potentially change the balance of powers. Turkey is seeking, in that way, to secure its full engagement in the ongoing processes in the South Caucasus - not just as a bordering country but as a leading subject which is reinforcing the positions of Azerbaijan in an effort to maintain a peer-to-peer relationship with Russia. All these are elements of a changing wtolorld order, which may be manifested on both the regional and global levels," he told the paper in an interview.

Turkey is deepening its cooperation also with Turkic states in Middle Asia, pushing ahead with its Pan-Turkism ideology, the analyst said, noting that those countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan) still fall short of being the bearers of the Turkish political ideology despite their Turkic origins.