Ruben Safrastyan: The further development of Russian-American  relations depends on the actions of the US Army in Syria

ArmInfo.The further development of relations between the United States and Russia depends on the actions of the American army in Syria, but Washington does not yet have a final decision in regard with this situation. The director of the  Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of  Armenia Ruben Safrastyan said on April 13 at a press conference.

He predicted that the escalation in Russian-American relations will  increase. According to the expert, President Donald Trump even more  tense the situation through "Tweeter policy."

The expert noted that now both sides are in a situation where there  are no ways for retreat, the whole question is only how large-scale  their actions will be. "Washington has repeatedly stated that it will  strike a blow to Syria, so if Trump suddenly changes his mind, it  will be a severe blow to his reputation. In turn, Vladimir Putin also  said that if during this operation the Russian military suffered,  Moscow will respond to Washington, so it is obvious that we are  coming to a climax, it all depends only on what exactly the US strike  will be," Safrastyan said.

He also stressed that Russia is pursuing a more balanced and cautious  policy, and it is possible that in this way it will be able to reduce  the intensity of passions and not bring the situation to full-scale  military operations. In addition, according to the expert, today the  meeting of the UN Security Council will take place, at which the  situation around Syria will be discussed, this is also a positive  factor. Finally, Safrastyan noted that another positive factor is the  fact that communication between Russian and American military is  maintained. "All these factors listed above indicate that warming is  possible in relations between Moscow and Washington," the political  scientist said.

Safrastyan stressed the fact that this time the US failed to secure  the same support that they had during the military operations in  Libya and Iraq. "This time, Germany and Italy said they would not  interfere in the Syrian conflict, which is certainly a major drawback  for America," the expert said, while emphasizing that the United  States is now pursuing a much tougher policy towards Russia than in  the United States. 2013.

Touching upon Russian-Turkish relations, he considered it unlikely  that they would develop further.  According to him, the current  relationship between Russia and Turkey is only the tip of the  iceberg.  "Having made his first visit to Turkey after his election,  Putin wanted to emphasize Ankara's importance for Russia, despite  this, Ankara continues to go against Russia on many issues, which in  the end could lead to a new escalation between the two countries,"  the expert said.