The Western stance on Ukraine's recent public protests shows that although the Cold War ended many years ago there is still a strong sentiment in the West for countries such as Ukraine to choose between the West and Russia.

No country is willing to live amid tense military confrontation, and the strategy of major powers to force smaller ones to take sides will eventually backfire, said a People's Daily commentary on Monday.

In the massive protests taking place across Ukraine, some hope Ukraine will draw closer to the European Union while others believe the country should take a practical approach when handling business ties with other countries and not take sides with either the EU or Russia.

Although relations between major countries have undergone some changes since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008, the scenario unfolding in Ukraine should remind us of the fact that there is no fundamental change in the traditional supremacy of the West in terms of strategic issues. The worse its economy becomes, the more its anxiety about any change in the status quo will grow.

When relations between major powers change, the traditional games between major powers remain on the world stage for a while, and the world has witnessed the big powers shift their stances on this year's hotspot issues behind the scenes.

Such games that characterize traditional major country relations have not disappeared with globalization.

But as countries seek a more advantageous position in the global system in the future, the game between major powers will mainly take place in areas such as global governance and regional economic integration.

Such games will be extremely challenging to countries, such as Ukraine, which are of geopolitical significance. These countries may want to keep their distance from both powers, but they might be forced to take sides before they are capable of playing the role of a bridge between the powers.

Indeed, the relationships between big powers and smaller countries have an impact on relations between major powers. Such interactions will help decide the new type of relations between major countries in the future.

(China Daily 12/19/2013 page8)