YEREVAN. – Although the predominantly Armenian-populated region of Kessab in northwestern Syria is now controlled by the Syrian government forces, the attacks on March 21 of last year may repeat.
Arab Studies specialist Armen Petrosyan stated the aforementioned at a press conference on Saturday.
Petrosyan stressed that Kessab is in the Latakia Governorate, which is populated by the followers of the religious affiliation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and therefore it has a target value.
“No one can give a guarantee that Kessab will not be attacked [again],” the Arab Studies specialist noted.
Petrosyan found it difficult to make predictions on a possible Turkey-sanctioned attack against Kessab on April 24, the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. He added, however, that Turkey would not want to create new problems for itself in the propaganda domain.
“Some local attacks are possible, but it is wrong to predict such large-scale attacks as happened last year on March 21,” the analyst said.
In his words, the main reason for the Arab Spring—i.e. the recent uprisings across the Middle East—was that an attempt was made to institute Western democratic values in the Middle East.