Armenian analyst: Azerbaijan and Turkey seek dominance, not peace

Turkologist Varzhan Geghamyan has shared an excerpt from an interview with U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, drawing parallels between Barrack’s assessment of the Middle East and the strategic objectives of Azerbaijan and Turkey toward Armenia.

"When we say peace, it's an illusion. There has never been peace. There will probably never be peace because everybody's fighting for legitimacy," Barrack told The National.

“So people say, well, they’re fighting over borders and boundaries. It’s not what they're fighting over. A border or a boundary is the currency of a negotiation. The end result is somebody wants dominance, which means somebody has to submit. In that part of the world, submit, there’s no Arabic word for submit. They can’t wrap their head around submit. So eventually, prosperity is the only answer," he added.

In a social media post on Thursday, Geghamyan argued that the U.S. envoy's remarks apply fully to the South Caucasus.

"Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s problem with Armenia is not about seizing one or two villages to secure a settlement and end the conflict. Their real aim is to establish dominance over us – a form of control that could ultimately absorb the Armenian state,” he wrote.

"Therefore, there is no peace and there will never be. What lies ahead is a struggle for power. In that struggle, we must prevail and ensure our security," Geghamyan added.