YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan-Turkey-Georgia upcoming joint military exercise scheduled in June and September is concerning since the economic partnership of those countries turns into military-political cooperation, Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Oriental Institute, told reporters on May 23, reports Armenpress.

The expert on Oriental studies links Turkey’s activeness in South Caucasus with the deterioration of the Turkish-US ties.

“This is linked with the fact that the relations with the new US leadership are very important for Turkey, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the US didn’t lead to any positive change in the Turkish-US relations. The two issues that Turkey raises before Washington in connection with Kurds and Fethullah Gulen received negative reaction from the US leadership”, Ruben Safrastyan said.

According to him, the reason of deterioration of the Turkish-US relations was the behavior of Erdogan’s security detail against the peaceful protesters in Washington DC, as well as the US military assistance to Syria’s Kurds.

“Turkey, activating its positions in South Caucasus, tries to some extent increase its value before Americans and receive concessions in connection with Kurds and Gulen”, Safrastyan said.