Yerevan /Mediamax/. Mustafa Aydin, a professor at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, does not share the opinion that Turkey can become Armenia’s “gateway” to the European Union.

Addressing a conference organized by the Caucasus Institute, Mustafa Aydin stated that the EU and Turkey are competing in the South Caucasus, and it is not realistic in this case to consider Turkey as a “bridge”.

The professor stated that the Caucasus constantly faces geopolitical challenges.

“I think being in this situation, the three South Caucasus states have become quite accustomed to the constantly changing world and the crises affecting the region.”

Mustafa Aydin expressed the opinion that there is a situation today when no external actor shows any special interest in the Caucasus.

“I cannot say whether it is good or bad. It could be good if a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan is signed. Of course, signing and achieving real peace are different things, but signing would already be progress, taking into account the fact that all international structures dealing with this issue have failed,” Aydin noted.

The professor considers it possible that after the war in Ukraine ends, Russia will partially return to the Caucasus, which will be expressed not so much in military as in political terms.

“I do not think that Russia will resort to revisionism in the Caucasus, as prior to the Russian-Ukrainian war, Turkey and Russia had agreed to “balance” the Caucasus. I believe Russia will maintain this balance, aiming to keep Western players away from the region,” Aydin said.

Analyzing the Russian-Turkish relations, the expert noted that Turkey had already pushed Russia back in Libya, Syria and Azerbaijan, but Turkey has never entered into a direct confrontation with Russia.

“Turkey knows very well that it cannot confront Russia without Western support. Over the past 10 years, Putin and Erdogan have been getting closer on the one hand, and further apart on the other. They agree on issues in which they can jointly oppose the West. I call this competitive cooperation,” Aydin said.