WASHINGTON. – U.S. interest in the region has changed. If it was a bilateral cooperation, which later turned into a regional one in 1990s, currently after September 11, 2009, it became an issue of global security, former Ambassador of Armenia to U.S., professor at Tafts university Ruben Shugaryan said on Saturday at the discussion on the “20 years of independence at Southern Caucasus: achievements and challenges.”

The discussion was organized by Washington Center for Strategic and International Studies. According to the professor, U.S. interest reached to its pick in the region after the Russian-Georgian war.

“Armenian democratic movement in 1988 started as a natural reaction to peaceful demands of uniting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the truth is also that the Armenian revolution compared to other post soviet states, was the first and maybe the strongest fight for democracy and human rights,” Shugaryan said commenting on the basis for Armenia’s independence establishment.

Analytics, high-ranking officials from U.S. State Department and MOD, experts from three states of the South Caucasus participated in the discussion on “20 years of independence at Southern Caucasus: achievements and challenges.” Shugaryan represented Armenia.