On March 21, an international scientific-practical round table entitled "The Turkish Factor in the Middle East and in the Post-Soviet Space" took place in Moscow, at the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies (RISS). The event was aimed at the scientific and practical comprehension of the policy of today's Turkey in the Greater Caucasus region and in the territory of the former Soviet Union in the context of Russia's national security. The following topics were discussed at the round table: issues of international security in a regional context: Turkey and the Greater Middle East; the domestic factors of instability in the Turkish state; the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh: Turkey's position; the prospects of integration projects in the Caucasus with the participation of the Russian Federation, Turkey, and other countries in the region; the religious and public-political influence of Turkey in the post-Soviet space and in the Turkic-populated regions of Russia. Over 60 experts and journalists participated in the round-table discussions; 13 of them made reports and many attendants participated in the discussions. Leading Russian research institutes and analytic centers were presented at the forum. On behalf of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Adviser to the NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs, Candidate of History Ruben Zargarian made a report – Nagorno Karabakh and Russia in Integration Projects and Turkey's Position on the Karabakh Conflict, which was actively supported by the round table participants and hosts. In his report, Ruben Zargarian gave an analysis of the prospects of participation of the NKR and Russia in the integration projects within the Eastern Mediterranean Neo-Byzantine Civilization. It was stressed that the successful formation of the Karabakh Government was one of the systemic factors of stability and development in the region. Another topic of Ruben Zargarian’s report was devoted to the confrontational policy of official Turkey towards the NKR and Armenia. The speaker noted that it would be more profitable for Turkey to replace its anti-Karabakh and anti-Armenian stance with the policy of cooperation with the NKR and Armenia. Noting that some Turkish political analysts stated that Turkey realized the irreversibility of the NKR independence, Mr. Zargarian emphasized that as a confidence measure and goodwill gesture, Turkey could fully recognize the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and establish diplomatic relations with it, which would contribute to progress in the conflict settlement issue. The third topic of Ruben Zargarian's report concerned the basic issues of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement, the destructive and aggressive policy of Azerbaijan, and the international legal position of the NKR. The speaker noted that Azerbaijan's territorial claims for seven reintegrated regions of the NKR should be regarded as unacceptable, inappropriate, and hampering the achievement of a peace agreement between the NKR and Azerbaijan. According to him, the lesson of the unresolved Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, the increasing threats of the Baku administration to resume the aggression, and the systematic Azerbaijani military provocations on the border is that negotiations are not enough to ensure peace and settlement, and a responsible attitude to international law is needed. "The Baku administration pointedly ignores international law by taking illegal attempts to question the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the NKR", said the Adviser to the NKR Foreign Minister, noting that a civilized and stable settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict must be based on the following five principles: determination of the NKR status is the exclusive right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh; final recognition of the NKR state independence by the international community; mutual recognition of the independence of the NKR and the Azerbaijani Republic; restoration of the territorial integrity of Nagorno Karabakh; peaceful resolution of disputes and non-use of force or threat of force. The report emphasized the need for the final recognition of the NKR independence as a factor of establishing peace and stability not only in the Caucasus region, but also in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean Neo-Byzantine Civilization, the NKR MFA Press Service informs.

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