Caucasuses, Balkans Still Unstable - US Intelligence

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, AP reported.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair said Tuesday that President Dmitry Medvedev's viewing of Moscow's former Soviet neighbors as a "zone of privileged interests" could undermine relations with Washington. Blair's comments were made in a prepared testimony for lawmakers.

Blair also named unresolved ethnic tensions between Bosnia's Muslims and Serbs as posing "the principal challenges" to European stability in 2010. He said Kosovo also required ongoing attention.

Fighting could also flare between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said.