MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. The likelihood of a full-scale war breaking out between Russia and the West is growing, but it is not inevitable, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) Director General Ivan Timofeev told TASS.

"A full-scale war is not is not a foregone conclusion, but unfortunately, its likelihood is growing," he pointed out ahead of an international conference titled "Russia and China: Cooperation in a New Era." "One option is that there will be a great rise in confrontation between us. At the root of this is the Ukraine issue, as the West continues to provide large-scale military assistance to Kiev," Timofeev added.

According to him, the looming possibility of an escalation in the Ukrainian conflict includes a direct clash between Russia and the West. "A number of officials, particularly in France and the United Kingdom, have said that individual military units from NATO countries may be deployed to Ukraine. If they take part in military operations against Russian forces, they will become a legitimate target for our army," Timofeev explained. "Let’s hope this possible escalation involves conventional arms and not nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, NATO is spending ten times as much as Russia - if not more - on defense. It’s certainly a dangerous scenario," the RIAC director general noted.

The West is fully aware of this danger, the expert believes. "The NATO leadership has made statements that no troops will be sent to Ukraine, and a number of EU politicians have said that this is counterproductive. That means they aren’t united on the issue," Timofeev stressed.

"As for Russia, we must take every possible scenario into account. We have the capacity to deter these threats," the RIAC chief emphasized. "However, such a scenario will cause irreparable damage to everyone," he added.

Baseline scenario

Timofeev pointed out that the baseline scenario was that the West would continue to actively assist Ukraine through weapons and equipment supplies. "The West will also keep working towards containing and isolating Russia," he noted, adding: "These dividing lines between us may be there for decades."

That said, Russia and the West will live amid a cold, "and sometimes even hot confrontation," given that the conflict in Ukraine goes on, the analyst concluded.