During a press conference today, Garnik Asatryan, Head of the Chair of Iranian Studies, said that Iran and Turkey were waging a "super power" struggle in the Caucasus and that both nationas had a right to strive for such a position. "Turkey, naturally wants to become a more active player in the northern and southern Caucasus. The recent cooling of relations between Turkey and Israel has proved that Ankara wants to mend fences with the Islamic world and establish cordial relations with Armenia," said Professor Asatryan. He added that Turkey wishes to establish its influence over the region not by taking destructive but constructive steps. "Naturally, competition between Turkey and Iran has always existed and continues today. Even capital inflows from Turkey have come up against a number of roadblocks," Professor Asatryan said. He said that there was one factor, however, in which the interests of the two nations converged; the Kurdish issue, In particular, the problem of Kurdish terrorist organizations. "The threat posed by various Kurdish groups is what unites the two countries," Professor Asatryan said. When asked by "Hetq" if Armenia could benefit from such competition, the professor said it was difficult to say and that it wouldn’t be correct to suggest such a scenario. He did state that it would be in the best interests of Armenia to establish and preserve cordial neighbourly relations with both nations. Professor Asatryan added that Iran’s participation in the Karabakh conflict settlement process would be beneficial and that Iran once played an active role in the process.