19.03.2021, Aleksandrovkoye.
Armenia is a sovereign state, and it may follow its own national interests without reference to Russia; however, Moscow can have its own interests, too, and ignore those of Yerevan, political scientist and the leader of the Essence of Time movement Sergey Kurginyan said on March 18 in an interview to the 24 TV Armenian TV channel.
The host asked the political scientist whether Russia needs Armenia. Kurginyan stressed that the Armenian community was among the first in the USSR who declared Armenian sovereignty and national interests.
“If it had not pursued this, probably the events when Armenia condemned and left the USSR would not have taken place. However, Armenian society decided that it had something in the West, like its diaspora, etc. That it could live on its own, and that it was self-sufficient,” Kurginyan said.
According to the leader of Essence of Time, Armenian society consists of three parts: a pro-Western one, a pro-Turkish one, and a patriotic one, which understands that Armenia has to “follow a consistently anti-Turkish position, because Turkey will follow an anti-Armenian one.” This depends on which part of society represents Armenia and what the relations between Moscow and Yerevan are.
“If Russia gets close with Turkey, and Turkey does not initiate a confrontation with Russia, then a Russian-Turkish convergence is far more important to Russia as a sovereign state than Armenia’s interests,” the political scientist said.
Kurginyan also added that the majority of the Russian elite supports the improvement of the Russian-Turkish relations, but he nevertheless believes that “Turkey will show its deeply anti-Russian face.”
It is noteworthy that in October 2020 the President of Russia Vladimir Putin visited a session of the Valday Discussion Club, where he was asked whether he was concerned over Turkey’s geopolitical ambitions. He answered that there was no concern for Russia.
“Today, thank God, we are not in a position to fear anything… I do not know what President Erdoğan’s plans are, and what his attitude to the Ottoman legacy is,” Putin said.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
