Tension over Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) could devolve into a large-scale military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which could draw in Russia to support its regional ally, the U.S. intelligence community said in its annual Worldwide Threat Assessment report.

Russia's regional ally is Armenia.

“Both sides’ reluctance to compromise, mounting domestic pressures, Azerbaijan’s steady military modernization, and Armenia’s acquisition of new Russian equipment sustain the risk of large-scale hostilities in 2018,” the report says.

The heads of the NSA, CIA, FBI, and ODNI gathered before members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to discuss various worldwide threats on Tuesday, February 13.