In Yerevan, experts report on danger of Turkey's interference in Karabakh conflict

Baku accumulates armed forces in Nakhichevan with the aim to involve Turkey into conflict with Armenia. This opinion was voiced by Armenian experts. However, according to them, Turkey is expected to provide only indirect support, since NATO will keep the country from direct intervention in the conflict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night of April 2, the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone was escalated. The parties to the conflict were engaged in combat actions with the use of tanks, multiple launch rocket systems, and aircrafts, which resulted in a large number of victims. On April 5, the sides to the conflict declared a truce; however, they periodically accuse each other of violation of agreements on ceasefire. On May 6, Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence, National Security and Internal Affairs Koryun Nagapetyan told journalists in Yerevan that Azerbaijan had been accumulating military vehicles in Nakhichevan.

Azerbaijan is trying to play the card of Nakhichevan to provoke Turkey to intervene in the conflict. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by political analyst Ruben Megrabyan, an expert of the Armenian Centre for Political and International Studies.

Ruben Megrabyan did not rule out that in case of resumption of war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan will strike from the area of Nakhichevan deep into Armenia. "The attack will be followed by a response of its armed forces, and that can provoke a Turkey's intervention in the conflict," Ruben Megrabyan has explained.

According to turkologist Levon Ovsepyan, Researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, it is unlikely that Turkey will be directly involved in hostilities against Armenia. Although, according to Levon Ovsepyan, "the actions of the Turkey's authorities are unpredictable and aggressive enough."

Levon Ovsepyan believes that NATO can play a role in retention of the Turkey's intervention in the conflict. Meanwhile, according to the expert-turkologist, Turkey will support Azerbaijan indirectly, as it was repeatedly stated by Turkish politicians.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.