27/06/2013 15:33
Safrastian: Turkish premier may strain relations with Syria
The protests in Turkey can be described as massive riots against the government, with various strata of society, mainly youths, being involved in those protests, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences, Turkologist Ruben Safrastian told the correspondent of Aysor.am.
In his opinion, it is too early to draw conclusions about the internal situation in Turkey. “We can expect the formation of a new political force,” Safrastian said.
Commenting on the situation in Turkey, he stressed one important circumstance that has attracted scant notice.
“Prior to the protests, maps of a new Turkey, so to speak, appeared in the Turkish press. The northern areas of Syria were indicated as part of Turkey on those maps. In other words, these issues are under discussion in Turkey,” the expert on Turkey noted.
According to him, one should not be surprised if Turkey starts implementing a tougher policy, in particular, regarding Syria. “It is very likely that Prime Minister Erdogan will soon strain relations with Syria in order to distract people’s attention from Turkey’s domestic problems,” Safrastian said.
As regards the relations between the Turkish president and the prime minister and the disagreements between them, the expert noted: “Yes, Abdullah Gul has adopted a softer stance and there is also a difference in their approaches. The reason here is personal. Erdogan is a charismatic person and has no intention of obeying anyone, including the Turkish president”.
Let us remind you that streets protests began in a number of Turkish cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, and Izmir in late May. The protests started as a sit-in at Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park against the park’s demolition, but rapidly grew into anti-government demonstrations. The police use violence against protesters. 5 people have been killed in clashes, over 5,000 were injured.