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A discussion on the U.S. policy in the South Caucasus, Russia’s role in the interrelation of regional forces and prospects for Karabakh peace initiatives was the main theme of an international conference organized by the Jamestown Foundation in Washington on Monday, the website of Voice of America reported.

Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins Centre for Transatlantic Relations David A. Merkel addressing the conference said that Russia remained the key factor in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations as well as in the development of the situation in the zone of Karabakh conflict.

According to him, for the progress towards a peace scenario in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the West and in particular the U.S. can play a crucial role provided it “intervenes in the settlement process at the highest level.”

"The Karabakh conflict is one of the areas where the policy of 'reset' can be effectively used by the Obama administration," David Merkel said.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza supported Merkel's position on the need for intervention at the highest level, noting that participation in the solution of the region's "urgent problems" does not have to be carried out by the Democratic administration. "This can also be done by Republican politicians," he said.