Head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations of IAS V. Petrosyan and representative of Kurdistan Democratic Party of RF Khoshavi Babakr Head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations Vahram Petrosyan Professor of the chair of Oriental Studies of IMEMO M. Sapronova and head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations of IAS V. Petrosyan

 

            On March 11-13 a symposium on “The role and significance of the Kurdish factor in the territorial and regional geopolicy” took place in the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Expert scientists from the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Institute of the U.S.A. and Canada, Institute of Oriental Studies, some officials from Russian Federation and Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government representing the Security Council of Russian Federation, Ministry of  Foreign Affairs of RF, Kurdistan Democratic Party, Kurdistan Regional Government,  as well as representatives from Armenia, Kazakhstan, from various countries of  CIS and from the Kurdish community of Moscow were present during the symposium.

      The session was opened by the speech of the deputy head of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Doctor of Political Sciences A. Saveliev. Head of the Department of Armenian-Kurdish Relations, candidate of Historical Sciences, associate professor Vahram Petrosyan represented YSU Institute for Armenian Studies. In his report “SWOT analysis of Armenian- Kurdish Relations” he spoke about the problems in the frames of SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and the prospects of the Armenian-Kurdish relations in the context of regional and territorial development. There were debates and discussions during the report. 

          In their reports and during the discussions the participants of the symposium raised different questions on the role of Kurdish minorities in the following countries: Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Russian Federation, countries of Central Asia and Southern Caucasus, as well as they emphasized the role of the Kurds in radical Islam in the struggle of Islamic state. Almost all the participants paid attention to Iraqi Kurdistan and to the events of Iraq and Syria.