Instead of NATO the Role of OSCE may be Strengthened in the Caucasus
“NATO won’t expand to the Caucasus,” Alexander Rahr, German analyst, member of representative of Russian Valdai Discussion Club, told at today’s online press conference held in Region Research Center, touching upon the possibilities of NATO’s expansion to the direction of the Caucasus.
The German analyst stated that he doesn’t observe such possibility of expansion. According to him, currently NATO should attempt to maintain Turkey within its structure, if it turns out that special Western services had connection with the attempted coup against Erdogan. “However, I may imagine strengthening of the role of OSCE, including “renaissance” of Meseberg process, initiated by Merkel and Medvedev in 2009,” Alexander Rahr said. According to the latter, touching upon NATO-Russia relations, he said that NATO doesn’t intend to wage a war with Russia. However, the German analyst doesn’t exclude that the existent tension in the relations may break a real war in Ukraine, which the West can’t allow.
“Fire may break out in the South Caucasus around Nagorno-Karabakh. However, I don’t observe NATO’s role there,” Rahr said. As a variant of settlement of issues between West-Russia relations he considers establishment of a united security zone from Lebanon to Vladivostok.
Touching upon the wave of terror intensifying in Europe, Alexander Rahr said, that it’s difficult for him to speak of the reasons of that phenomenon. “I personally consider, that this is only the beginning of a wide-scale conflict against Islamic terror of the West and Eurasia, which strongly deepens its roots in Africa and the Middle East. NATO failed to win Islamic terror neither in Afghanistan, nor in Iraq, nor in Libya. And if the Islamic State and such structures deepened their roots there, and the West generates war with them, then they will move their war to the countries of South Europe, including, France and Germany. This is a conflict of views, in case of which the possibility of clash of civilizations is high,” he said.
To the question whether it wasn’t strange, that the issue wasn’t discussed at Warsaw NATO Summit, he replied that it won’t fight against terror inside Europe. According to his observations this is done by the Police, thus, here the hope is cooperation between the special services.
“I think exchange of information has been activated. NATO stated that it doesn’t leave Afghanistan, that it’ll continue fight against international terror. I don’t exclude that in NATO they’re going to invade Libya. NATO fights against terror in Syria like it used to,” Alexander Rahr said.
By Araks Martirosyan
