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U.S. intelligence official touches upon Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the open Hearing on â€œCurrent and Projected Threats to the United Statesâ€

03 February 2010 04:34 (UTC +04:00)

Washington. Isabel Levine â€“ APA. â€œThe unresolved conflicts of the Caucasus provide the most likely flashpoints in the Eurasia regionâ€, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at the open Hearing on â€œCurrent and Projected Threats to the United Statesâ€, on February 2nd..

According to APAâ€™s Washington correspondent during the hearing Mr. Blair touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well:

â€œAlthough there has been progress in the past year toward Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, this has affected the delicate relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and increases the risk of a renewed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakhâ€ â€“ he stated.

A top U.S. intelligence official says America’s relations with Russia could suffer as the United States seeks closer ties with Georgia and other former Soviet states.

â€œMoscowâ€™s expanded military presence in and political-economic ties to Georgiaâ€™s separatist regions of South Ossetia and sporadic low-level violence increase the risk of miscalculation or overreaction leading to renewed fightingâ€, he said.

CIA Chief mentioned that president Dmitry Medvedev is viewing of Moscow’s former Soviet neighbors as a "zone of privileged interests" could undermine relations with Washington.

He added that, Moscow, moreover, has made it clear it expects to be consulted closely on missile defense plans and other European security issues.

On the whole, the CIA Chief stressed that, the strategic landscape has changed considerably for US interests over the past year.

â€œWe see some improvements, but also several entrenched problems and slow progress in some areas for the foreseeable future. Several large-scale threats to fundamental US interests will require increased attention, and it is on one of these threats that I will focus our initial discussion. We continue to assess that global climate change will have wide-ranging implications for US national security interests over the next 20 years because it will aggravate existing world problemsâ€”such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutionsâ€”that threaten state stabilityâ€.

Speaking about Iran, Mr. Blair mentioned that, the Iranian regime continues to flout UN Security Council restrictions on its nuclear program. There is a real risk that its nuclear program will prompt other countries in the Middle East to pursue nuclear options.