Orientalist: Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a  new challenge for which Yerevan should respond with calls for peace

ArmInfo.Recognition by the United States of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel for Armenia is a new challenge for which Yerevan should respond with calls for peace.   Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies of Yerevan State University Ruben Melkonyan expressed opinion ArmInfo.

On December 6, US President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the  capital of Israel, ordering the US embassy to move to Jerusalem.

"The historical presence of Armenians in the Holy Land, the  importance of the Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic  Church, demonstrating the trend towards revitalization of diplomatic  relations between Armenia and Israel are very important for us, and  we are obliged to preserve all this, and any war around Jerusalem  brings with it the destruction of all this the decision of Yerevan  will be non-interference in the big game of big players," the  Orientalist said.

Melkonyan considers the connection between the actual announcement of  the beginning of a new conflict on the same day as Moscow's  announcement of the destruction of the ISIS in Syria and the end of  the conflict on the territory of that country. According to him, the  declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is unacceptable for  a number of Sunni and Shiite hostile to Israel - Islamic countries.  In this light, the orientalist predicts an even greater escalation of  the multi-year Middle East conflict as a result of the change in the  status of Jerusalem.

In this context, Melkonyan in the near future expects the  transformation of protest actions in the Middle East countries into a  wave of terrorist attacks, inter-ethnic clashes, and a peak in  tension in the zone of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All this,  according to the forecasts of the orientalist, will be accompanied by  a new round of the global confrontation of the United States with the  long-standing enemy Iran and the NATO allied Turkey.

"After the Jerusalem attack of Trump, Ankara can not stay aside, and  this situation is an additional reason for Turkey's criticism of the  policy of the White House, and demonstrating solidarity with the  Islamic world and criticizing the NATO ally, Turkey will gain  additional political dividends on the way to strengthening its  authority in the Islamic world, at the same time, unlike most Muslim  countries, Turkey will continue to develop its special relations not  only with the United States, but also with Israel," the Orientalist  predicts.