Editing Stephen Walt (section)

===Eastern Europe and Russia===
In 2015, a year after Russia [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation | invaded Crimea]], Walt wrote that extending invitations for [[NATO]] membership to countries in the former [[Soviet bloc]] is a "dangerous and unnecessary goal" and that [[Ukraine]] ought to be a "neutral buffer state in perpetuity." He further argued that, although Obama had refrained from arming Ukraine, doing so would be "a recipe for a longer and more destructive conflict".<ref name="Walt Ukraine">{{cite magazine|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/09/how-not-to-save-ukraine-arming-kiev-is-a-bad-idea|author=Stephen M. Walt|title=Why Arming Kiev Is a Really, Really Bad Idea|magazine=Foreign Policy|date=February 9, 2015|access-date=October 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016010426/https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/09/how-not-to-save-ukraine-arming-kiev-is-a-bad-idea/|archive-date=2015-10-16|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Barack Obama | Obama]] administration avoided arming Ukraine for the duration of its term, in keeping with Walt's strategy, but the [[Donald Trump | Trump]] administration angered Russia by approving a plan to provide anti-tank missiles in 2017.<ref>
{{cite web
	| url = https://www.armytimes.com/flashpoints/2017/12/23/us-agrees-to-send-lethal-weapons-to-ukraine-angering-russia/
	| title = US agrees to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, angering Russia
	| last = Lederman
	| first = Josh
	| date = 23 December 2017
	| website = Army Times
	| publisher = Sightline Media Group
	| access-date = 12 September 2024
	| quote = The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, a long-awaited move that deepens America’s involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. Moscow responded angrily on Saturday.
}}
</ref>