The US has promoted the expansion of NATO to the East to prepare for a possible confrontation with China, says the head of the state Duma international Affairs Alexei Pushkov.

Founded in 1949, the Alliance has gone through several enhancements, the most significant of the end of the Cold war: 3 Eastern European countries joined the bloc in 1999, 7 in 2004 and two in 2009) 3 More Balkan countries have plans to connect to the Alliance in the near future.

" The U.S. is trying to consolidate the European space because they think they assumed a serious confrontation with China, and for this reason they need the expansion of NATO expansion to the East. That is, it should be expanded and then engage in a decisive battle with China for the world championship, " said the Russian people's choice in the " Right to know" on the TV channel TVC.

Outside NATO are only eight European countries, which adhere to the policy of neutrality: Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Austria, neutrality became a condition for the return of her sovereignty in 1955), Serbia (law on temporary neutrality 2007, as long as the referendum decides this issue), Moldova (neutrality enshrined in the Constitution of 1994) and Ukraine (the law of non-aligned status 2010 in recent months questioned).

sections: Politics