Unfortunately, Ukraine has remained almost alone against Russia, Alexander Kolomiets, the president of the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies, told ArmInfo.
"Actually, the European Union fell in the battle for Donbass. NATO is due to face the same fate. The coalition in support of Ukraine has failed. What has remained from the 'political West' is now unable to protect even itself. Drills of NATO and other groups of countries are just a poor show comparing to the large-scale military exercises of Russia. More and more concerns that the next target of aggression may be the Baltic States, namely Latvia and Estonia," he said.
All this, the expert said, shows that the Kremlin has passed on to a new phase of its fundamental strategy. The developments after Vlaidmir Putin's 'disappearing' began to prove such forecasts and concerns. Kolomiets believes that the Kremlin is well aware that the West no longer shows any resistance. The EU is split up, while NATO does almost nothing. Obama's Administration has taken the weakest ever geo- strategic stand in the contemporary history of the United States.
What really happens on the frontline in the east of Ukraine shows that the Kremlin has launched the new phase of its strategy, he said. In particular, the Minsk-3 like the Minsk-1 and Minsk-2 proved an elementary cover for preparations for a new stage of war. The Minsk-3 can be declared invalid too, he said.
"It is very much likely that at the meeting in Astana on March 20, Vladimir Putin tried to form an 'Astana Coalition' based on the CSTO countries. The practical steps of the 'Astana Coalition' - if it is created - we will see soon. By the way, the creation of such coalition will not be made public," Kolomiets said.