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The United States Congress has held a rare closed hearing on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, as leading members of Congress are pushing for new conflict-resolution measures favored by Armenia but opposed by Azerbaijan, analyst Joshua Kucera wrote on Eurasianet.org.

“Significant economic problems caused by the drop in oil prices has led to increasing civil unrest, which may increase the incentives for Baku to change the subject by rallying the country around the flag for war in Karabakh,” the analyst notes.

“The chair of the House committee, Representative Ed Royce (a Republican from California), and the leading Democrat on the committee, Eliot Engel, have been promoting a new initiative for Karabakh. The proposal calls for snipers on both sides to move back from the line of contact and for monitors and monitoring equipment to be put in place to determine whom to blame for the increasingly regular and serious ceasefire violations, “J. Kucera writes noting that the proposal has been endorsed by the State Department and by Warlick, as well as by Armenian lobbying groups.

Azerbaijan, however, objects on the grounds that it would solidify the status quo, which is in Armenia's favor.

As was reported, on January 8 the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a closed-door discussion on escalation of the tension in Karabakh and confidence building measures.

The U.S. Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick also made a speech at the event. On his Twitter account, he thanked the Committee Chairman Ed Royce for holding the discussion.