Yerevan /Mediamax/. Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan spoke about the asymmetric threats to the regional security singling out the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIL).

“During a short period of time it managed to enlarge its control zone and it continues to spread across all directions automatically targeting at the South Caucasus, the two neighbors of which – Turkey and Iran – are this or that way involved in developments over ISIL. If the autonomous Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq and the rest of Kurdish communities united to fight ISIL fail in their struggle against the latter, then it will bring ISIL closer to the borders of the South Caucasus,” said the Defense Minister in Yerevan on June 18 addressing a speech at Rose Roth seminar conducted by NATO Parliamentary Assembly, in collaboration with the National Assembly of Armenia.

“There are confirmed data that a great number of Azerbaijani and a certain number of other Caucasian nationalities fighters in the ranks of ISIL. The return of these fighters who have passed a terrorist way will first of all threaten their own countries and then immediately Armenia,” said Seyran Ohanyan.

Addressing a speech at the same seminar, Domitilla Sagramoso, Lecturer in Security and Development at King's College, London, said that the struggle against ISIL will be long-term and we should be patient.

According to her, as of now ISIL does not pose any real threat to the South Caucasia. Speaking about the involvement of South Caucasian residents in ISIL’s terrorist acts, she stressed the importance of global cooperation to struggle against it.

Director at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia Ruben Safrastyan said that the peculiarity of the “Islamic State” is its growing into a state from a terrorist group.

“Its emergence was possible when four countries in the Middle East – Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen - had stopped to ‘exist’”, said the Director at the Institute of Oriental Studies.