YEREVAN. – Both Americans and Israel are conducting secret talks with the Kurds of Iraq and Syria, historian and turkologist Ruben Safrastyan told reporters on Monday.

In response to a comment that the State Department and Iran spoke out against establishment of a Kurdish state, the turkologist said: “Yes, both the State Department, and Iran stated that they oppose this process, but as historical experience suggests, issues related to the Kurds, are in focus of interests of great powers and regional states. Here statements and real actions do not coincide in many cases.”

“There is evidence that both Americans and Israel are conducting secret talks with Iraqi Kurds. That is, there is a big game in the Middle East,” added Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the Institute of Orientology at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia.