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American expert: Better relations between the US and Russia should reduce tensions between Moscow and post-Soviet countries

01 June 2010 10:14 (UTC +04:00)

Washington, Isabel Levine â€“ APA. â€œThe frozen conflicts in the Caucasus region, particularly the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict both threaten to reignite conflict and prevent a warming of relationsâ€, - told APAâ€™s Washington DC correspondent Doug Bandow, a former White House special assistant (during President Reaganâ€™s term), who currently serves as a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, specializing in foreign policy in Washington DC.

Mr. Bandow expressed his hopes that international and domestic efforts towards the solution Nagorno-Karabakh and other frozen conflicts will bring fruitful results soon.
Speaking about authority struggle of the â€œgreat powersâ€ over South Caucasus region a former White House official mentioned that â€œcould warâ€ years are left behind.

According to him, better relations between the US and Russia should reduce tensions between Moscow and post-Soviet countries.

â€œEspecially if Washington backs away from NATO expansion, then Russia won’t have to worry about these nations joining a military alliance directed against Russia. Moscow has allowed Air Georgian flights to restart. I suspect there will be additional modest steps taken to improve relations with Georgia, though they will be limited as long as Saakashvili is president. Hopefully there will be an improvement with other countries tooâ€, - he stressed.

Mr. Bandow also touched Turkish-Armenian establishment saying that he hopes for progress in it. The fact is â€œthat the agreement between these two countries has remained unfulfilledâ€.

â€œObviously there are historical as well as current issues between the two countries. Both would benefit economically from improved relations. This strategy also would promote regional stabilityâ€, - he added.