BEIJING, January 31. /TASS/. The "Great Game" begun by Washington around NATO’s eastward expansion along with the Ukrainian crisis concerns stability, security and peace in the entire Eurasian space while in broader terms it targets both Russia and China, expert of the Global Issues Research Center at the Xinhua news agency Wan Chengcai told TASS on Monday.

"The United States views major changes occurring worldwide as a great game between strong powers. For the US itself, the edge of this game is above all targeting Russia and China," the Chinese political scientist noted. Now, he thinks, the "game" between Washington and Moscow has focused on whether NATO will expand in the eastern direction and how the Ukrainian crisis would be resolved.

"One cannot underestimate the results of this game since in the future they may impact the shaping of a new model of the world order," the expert stressed.

NATO eastward expansion

He reiterated that NATO is a product of the Cold War. The Warsaw Treaty Organization led by the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1990, followed by the collapse of the USSR itself. It seems that NATO should have also been dissolved. Yet not only did NATO remain but in violation of its own promises not to expand to the East after the reunification of Germany it continued to increase its membership, including not only the Soviet Union’s former Eastern European allies but also three former Soviet republics.

"What is even more serious for Russia is that the United States did not stop there, attempting now to absorb CIS countries, Ukraine, above all, that have significant borders with Russia, thus bringing military bases to Russia’s doorstep," the political scientist continued.

"Naturally, it is difficult for Russia to accept the situation that directly threatens its security," he stated. If NATO continues its eastward expansion, "Russia will definitely undertake countermeasures it deems necessary," according to the expert, and then it will be hard to normalize US-Russian relations.

"If the United States has a sincere intention to really improve Russia-US relations, then NATO’s eastward expansion should be stopped," the Chinese political scientist stated.

Ukrainian crisis

According to Wan Chengcai, the Ukrainian problem is inherently a domestic Ukrainian issue, however, according to him, "the major interference by the US has complicated everything." Moreover, he says that Washington is now asserting that it is China who should tell Russia not to "invade" Ukraine.

"This diplomatic trick by the US is not actually aiming to decrease tensions but implies three underhanded motives," according to the political scientist who says that, first of all, the US is trying to drive a wedge into Russian-Chinese relations and use China as a mediator without any special need to do so since diplomatic channels between Russia and the US function normally at all levels while Russia and Ukraine can always talk directly without involving a third party. Finally, the new Minsk Accords worked out by Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany within the framework of the Normandy talks are a key to the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. The United States ignores these agreements and attempts to create another format which would be overseen by the US and would correspond to American interests, the expert thinks.

"If a new approach won’t include the main content of the Minsk Accords, Russia won’t be able to accept it, since Russia has nowhere to retreat, Moscow is the final frontier," the Chinese expert concluded.