13.10.2020, Moscow.
Islamic militants who are fighting on the side of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone will remain in the region and threaten the North Caucasus and Crimea after the escalation is over, said the leader of the Essence of Time movement, political scientist Sergey Kurginyan on October 11 on the air of the Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov TV program on Russia One channel.
Islamic militants from the Middle East who are now fighting on the side of Azerbaijan will not leave the region even after the escalation is over. They will become an instrument of pressure on Russia.
“Will these militants go back to the conflict zones they came from once this mess is over?… They will stay, and then the North Caucasus, and of course, Crimea will come under attack,” emphasized the political scientist. “They will stay because Crimea is the number one priority for the first version of neo-Ottomanism (the policy of increasing Turkey’s political influence in the countries that were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire – Editorial note).”
“As it was said long ago: Crimea cannot be Ukrainian. It can either be Russian or Turkish,” noted Kurginyan.
If this happens, Russia will find itself in a very difficult geopolitical situation, stressed the expert. In such a case, Russia will have to solve two issues in order to achieve its geopolitical interests.
First of all, those regional forces who oppose Turkey must decide and take a stand on the side of those who oppose the US and stop sitting between two chairs, because Russia will never accept it.
The second issue, is one which the Russian elites must resolve. “We have a huge conflict within our elites between those who support the Turkish scenario (establishing good relations with Turkey – editorial note), and those who do not. And ultimately, we must open our eyes to neo-Ottomanism and drop the curtain on its development in this conflict,” noted Kurginyan.
In the 1920s, Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish state, drew Turkish borders after a successful war over Anatolia and made no claims to any additional territories, but today Russia is dealing with a completely different state, stressed the political scientist. “Then, it was acceptable to us, it was acceptable to all. Now, we are facing a situation of territorial expansion. And, what do we do about it?” concluded Sergey Kurginyan.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
