YEREVAN.- The most significant event of 2011 was flowering of the so-called “the Arab spring” in the Middle East, President of the Middle East Institute Yevgeny Satanovsky told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The expert recalled that similar events occurred in 1914 and 1945 affecting the entire planet.

Satanovsky said it is difficult what will happen next adding that usually decades pass between the beginning and end of such crucial changes.

“It is clear that geography of the “Arab Spring” will be expanded to cover new countries. It’s a territory from the Atlantic to the Indian subcontinent, from Morocco, Mauritania, Pakistan, up to Southeast Asia and affecting Central Asia,” he said.

He stressed that not a single country will remain indifferent, except for Papua New Guinea.

“Islam is not only religion any more. It is a political project. There are some trends - Shiites, Sunnis with a peculiar trend – Wahhabism,” he said.

Speaking about the South Caucasus, particularly Azerbaijan and Armenia, Satanovsky said that thy will be indirectly affected by “the Arab spring.”

“As regards Azerbaijan, other states will not be able to involve it in this process. Baku is well aware that Turkey and Iran are seeking to bring the country into their orbit and wisely distanced itself from Ankara and Tehran. In this regard Armenia will face more difficult because of the large Armenian Diaspora in the Middle East,” said Satanovsky.

If unrests broke out in Iran, Syria and Lebanon, local Christian communities, including Armenians, will face hard times.

“The entire Armenian community of the Middle East is under attack as radical Islamists are coming to power. The idea of ​​a new caliphate coming from Saudi Arabia, does not imply the presence of Christians in general,” said the expert. Drawing an analogy with the Azerbaijani community of Iran, Satanovsky noted that its position in this respect is much better.