There is concern regarding the Armenian community of Lebanon, given that the ongoing crisis could have a negative impact on the ethno-political situation established in the country. Arabist Sargis Grigoryan said this in an interview with a NEWS.am correspondent.
According to him, in recent years Turkey has significantly strengthened its positions in this country, which is also conditioned by the instability prevailing in Lebanon. “Ankara is trying to take advantage of this and strengthen itself. Lebanon is important for Turkey, also as a factor in the weakening of Syria in the region, which it has always considered its zone of strategic influence. Parallel to this, a weakening of the Hezbollah organisation is being observed, which however continues to remain an influential force in the country, and is a serious deterrent factor for the Turkish authorities,” he said.
The expert believes that the anti-Armenian movement of Turkish organisations, which began a few days ago, carries a local character, but it shows Ankara’s growing influence on Lebanese internal processes, since it manages to respond to anti-Turkish manifestations and even make statements about the need to restrain this or that mood.
It should be noted that earlier the media had reported on an anti-Armenian protest in Beirut, which took place after criticism was voiced during a television programme whose host was Armenian, regarding Ankara’s aggressive foreign policy. The protest demonstrations had followed a viewer’s offensive message directed at the host and the latter’s response.
It should be noted that an unstable political situation has prevailed in Lebanon for a long time.
