Several days ago the Turkish National Security Council approved significant changes in a document which contains threats against Turkey claiming that Israel is now a major threat to the country, Turkish media reported. At the same time the Council decided to remove Syria, Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia from the list of countries that pose a threat to Turkey. Iran, which was previously a major threat to Ankara was also removed from the list of countries. But Turkey thought that it’s kind of soon to consider Russia their friend and ally. And thus Russia was included in the list of neutral states. During an interview to our reporter the vice-president of the Academy on geopolitical affairs, the former chief of the department for General affairs in the Soviet Union’s ministry of Defense, former secretary of the Council of defense ministers of the Commonwealth of independent states (CIS) Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov spoke about the change of the Turkish doctrine in relation to post-soviet states. In this regard he said, “Turkey wishes to be the boss in the South Caucasus. And it simply platys a game with us and Armenia by emphasizing that they’d left Russia in the neutral list and they approached Armenia to them. The attempts of Ankara resemble attempts of separating and secluding Armenia from Russia and keeping it under its influence. Let me say it this way. Anyone that tries to diminish the relations of Russia and Armenia is trying to include or bring Armenia closer to the NATO.”
