“There has been a notable increase in Armenians returning to Syria,” Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies specialist Ruben Safrastyan told reporters.
He emphasized that news has been spreading over the past few days that Syrian President Bashar Assad is preparing to rebuild the Armenian church in Der Zor that was destroyed by the Islamic State. “This shows that the Syrian authorities are interested in having Armenians return. They gave the green light for that. Of course, not all Armenians will return, but, for example, the majority of Armenians that moved to Lebanon will return to Syria, I think. The process has begun.”
Regarding the end of the Syrian conflict, the expert is convinced that developments will take place this year. “Turkey’s role in Syria will weaken, which will have an impact of American-Turkish sales, especially the sell of weapons. On the other hand, Syria’s Kurdish issue will be resolved. It is already suggested that Kurds will receive a large area of self-government within Syria. The Syrian constitution did not recognize independence in the past.”
According to Ruben Safrastyan, it is not unlikely that Syrian and Kurdish negotiations will result in Kurdish independence. “The territories where more Arabs live than Kurds will be returned to the Syrian authorities. Therefore, the number of territories governed by Kurds will decrease.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
