U.S. INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL TOUCHES UPON NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT DURING THE OPEN HEARING ON "CURRENT AND PROJECTED THREATS TO THE UNITED STATES"

APA
03 Feb 2010 07:34

Washington. Isabel Levine – APA. "The unresolved conflicts of the
Caucasus provide the most likely flashpoints in the Eurasia region",
Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair told the US Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence at the open Hearing on "Current and
Projected Threats to the United States", on February 2nd..

According to APA’s Washington correspondent during the hearing Mr.

Blair touched upon the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well:

"Although 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-Karabakh" – 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.

"Moscow’s expanded military presence in and political-economic ties to
Georgia’s separatist regions of South Ossetia and sporadic low-level
violence increase the risk of miscalculation or overreaction leading
to renewed fighting", 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.

"We 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
problems-such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation,
ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions-that threaten
state stability".

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.