Zhirinovsky: Moscow and Ankara to solve Karabakh and Kurdish issues

Russia and Turkey are able to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Kurdish problem, uniting their trade, economic and military efforts, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Vladimir Zhirinovsky said in an interview with the Azerbaijani TV channel 'Lider-TV' yesterday.

"If Turkey develops relations with Russia, it will be for the ages. There are plenty of advantages in economic, commercial and industrial spheres, and absolutely no disadvantages. We are the north, they are the south. We are ready to take everything produced by the southern country's economy and give them everything they need from the northern country, which is one of the 10 most developed countries of the world. Today Turks treat Russians better than Poles, Finns and even Ukrainians do. There are almost no specific anti-Russian actions in Turkey. Therefore, Turkey has great opportunities for a dramatic improvement of relations with Russia," the politician believes.

"If Turkey and Russia join their trade, economic and military efforts, the Kurdish problem and the Armenian problem would simply fade away. The Karabakh problem will be solved and Azerbaijan will be satisfied. That is, the prospects for the whole Caucasus and the Middle East are magnificent," Vladimir Zhirinovsky noted.

Answering the question of how he sees the solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the LDPR leader stressed: "We cannot decide here - let the Kremlin decide it. But it is possible to find some special status for Nagorno-Karabakh in order to satisfy both Armenians and Azerbaijanis. That is, to find some mixed solution, where nobody claims anything, as they say, free political zone. A free city like Constantinople or Danzig".

The director of the Institute of Political Studies, Sergey Markov, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, said that Russia and Turkey are unlikely to be solving these issues. "Russia and Turkey are strong players, but neither Armenia is Russia’s satellite, nor Azerbaijan is Turkey’s - these are independent countries. Therefore, Azerbaijan and Armenia can solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on their own. On the other hand, rapprochement between Russia and Turkey creates a very good background for the resolution of the conflict and it is in the interests of Azerbaijan. No wonder this rapprochement has caused the Armenian press to express mistrust and received a large positive response in the Azerbaijani press," the analyst believes.

"Right now the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is impossible, but a very big step forward in this direction is possible, as well as a temporary compromise on the Kazan historical formula, which includes a return of 5-6 Azerbaijani regions around Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for lifting of the blockade of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan and Turkey," Sergey Markov said.

As for the Kurdish issue, the situation is more complicated: in any case, it is not easy to solve the Kurdish question, the expert believes. "The more military actions they carry out, the more acute the Kurdish issue is, because the Kurds are very strong fighters. Therefore, if the improvement of the Russian-Turkish relations leads to Turkey decreasing their support of jihadists, military tensions might decrease. What we do see now is the desire to restore relations with Russia, but we do not know whether Turkey is ready to give up its idea to overthrow Bashar al-Assad," Sergey Markov concluded.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky is an expert-Turkologist who speaks about these issues as a professional, which was educated with a focus on Turkey during the Soviet period, therefore, his opinion should not be seen as a political opinion, but as an expert one, a political analyst, Candidate of Historical Sciences Oleg Kuznetsov told Vestnik Kavkaza.

"The collapse of the Soviet Union and the defeat in the Cold War has radically changed the geopolitical situation in the Western Asia and the Middle East. Palestine, Kurds and Armenians began to seek other sources of funding. And the Soviet Union's influence was replaced by that of the US. Or Iran, in the case of Palestine. And the Armenians were directed against the Soviet Union in the Nagorno-Karabakh, while Kurds were focused on Turkey. And, in principle, the same marginal forces have remained in the region, the only difference that the 'owner' has changed," the expert said.

"Of course, restoration of relations between Russia and Turkey will weaken the impact of these marginalized peoples to the regional security. Therefore, as Zhirinovsky says, indeed, the Russian-Turkish rapprochement can be a guarantor of a military-political and military-strategic foundation for a new regional reality when Russia and Turkey are united against their common foreign policy issues," Oleg Kuznetsov believes.

"Back in 2013, I voiced an idea that it is necessary to create a Moscow-Ankara-Baku triangle in the Black Sea-Caucasus region. This will eliminate any influence of third forces in the region," the expert noted.

"Of course, it will also solve the problem of fighting against Daesh. Therefore, there is a serious, real prospect of a new geopolitical contours with participation of two major regional powers, I mean Russia and Turkey, which may really affect the Karabakh conflict and the Kurdish issue," Oleg Kuznetsov summed up.