The Americans “really want” an immediate de-escalation with Russia, but dialogue is not possible with thousands of Russian troops at the Ukrainian border, a senior NATO source representing an EU member state in Brussels told EURACTIV.

“Believe me, the Americans really want an immediate de-escalation with Russia,” the source said, adding that NATO knows that the direct threat is Russia but is also aware that the danger in the “wider picture” is China, which is now comfortably observing “two powerful elephants wrestling”.

“Beijing has not threatened the West strategically or militarily, but you have to predict the future, and China is not growing only commercially,” the source said.

Asked about the Ukrainian crisis and Moscow's next steps, he said that only President Vladimir Putin knows what will happen, while even the Kremlin leadership has no idea.

At the same time, the source added, it would be nice if the West would also “pulled Ukraine’s ear a bit”,  as some in Kyiv are staging "unnecessary provocations."

In his estimation, Russia is not planning an invasion of Ukraine.  “To invade such a large country with such military forces [like Ukraine], you need military capabilities other than those that have been currently deployed,” the source said.

He stressed that NATO has no obligation or right to militarily intervene in Ukraine because it is not a member of the Alliance, but things would be very different if a NATO country were attacked. “If Russia made the mistake of attacking a NATO member state, then we would have a third world war.”

Nevertheless, the source added, Ukraine is a "partner with increased capabilities" of NATO, which means that the alliance has certain moral obligations that could lead to massive sanctions against Moscow.