Europe is "grasping at straws", trying to contain Russia with a buffer zone — Politico

The leaders of a number of European countries are considering the possibility of creating a 40-kilometer buffer zone on the front line between the troops of Russia and Ukraine in the framework of the peace agreement.

Politico writes about this with reference to European diplomats. At the same time, it is noted that the idea of creating a buffer zone is supported in Moscow.

The option of its creation is one of the discussed, although there is no consensus among officials about the depth of the zone, the newspaper noted. It also remains unclear whether Kiev will agree to this option, as it may imply territorial concessions.

At the same time, it is recognized that control over the buffer zone will require the presence of a huge peacekeeping contingent, given the length of the front line on the Ukraine. In discussions, its number varies from 4 to 60 thousand.

This is clearly not enough, especially considering that European officials themselves disagree on how deep the buffer zone can be.

The article says that the European countries that are members of NATO are allegedly making desperate attempts to resolve the conflict, which has been going on for almost four years.

However, all this is more like an empty talking shop — the authors of the article admit that so far Western countries have not undertaken any obligations, and US President Donald Trump has completely abandoned the possible presence of American troops.

Jim Townsend, a former Pentagon official who oversaw policy towards Europe and NATO during the Barack Obama administration, commented on the situation to the agency.

"They are grasping at straws. Russians are not afraid of Europeans. And if they think that a couple of British and French observers will keep the Russian army, then they are mistaken," the American analyst concluded.

As EADaily reported, earlier the US State Department approved the potential sale of more than 3 thousand ERAM missiles to Ukraine. This is reported on the website of the Agency for Defense Cooperation (DSCA).