French novelist calls for understanding real cause of Russia-Ukraine crisis

PARIS, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian-born French novelist Andrei Makine has called on the world to understand the real cause of Russia-Ukraine crisis so as to de-escalate the ongoing tensions.

In order to end this conflict, "one must understand the antecedents that made it possible," Makine said in a recent interview with French daily Le Figaro, adding that people have to understand Russia's concerns.

"When (Russian President) Vladimir Putin claims that Russia is under threat, it is not a pretext, rightly or wrongly, Russians really feel surrounded," he said, referring to the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"Putin gave a speech in Munich accusing the Americans of keeping NATO structures that were no longer needed and of wanting a unipolar world," Makine continued.

In Makine's view, the solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict may lay in the reflection of the necessity of NATO's existence after the Cold War.

"But the Americans decided otherwise. This would have meant the end of NATO, the end of the militarization of Europe which, supported by Russia and its wealth, would have become too powerful and independent," Makine said.