Escalating tensions between Russia and the US would not affect the conflicts in the South Caucasus, that are determined, firstly, by internal regional factors, Director of the Center for Socio-Political Studies Vladimir Yevseyev said.

Dwelling on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Yevseyev said that it will be determined by the ability of the sides to avoid violence.

“There is a dangerous balance, with regular sniper attacks and trainings. But the Nagorno Karabakh peace process has nothing to do with Russian-US relations,” Yevseyev stated, adding that meetings regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue are mainly initiated by Russia.

Russian-US relations suffered from Washington’s refusal to give Moscow legal guarantees that the European missile shield would not be a threat. The framework of the two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers had a session of the Russia-NATO Council, with Russian Minister Sergey Lavrov attending it. The key topic was cooperation on the European missile shield, where the sides failed to reach consensus, Vestnik Kavkaza reported.