Russian-American talks on the Black Sea are making Europe nervous. Romania and Bulgaria fear that these actions will increase Russian influence in the Black Sea.
Political expert Olesya Yakhno commented on The Financial Times article with the corresponding headline, explaining Russia's negotiating style.
"This episode alone demonstrates Russia's approach to the ceasefire and the understanding of the risks by the countries of the Black Sea basin," the expert writes.
She recalls how the Kremlin initially tried to impose the reverse sequence - not a halt to military action and then a move towards peace, but on the contrary - demanding unilateral concessions from Ukraine under the pressure of blackmail.
"When it was not possible to push through a "big package" of demands (because the joint approach of Ukraine-US-Europe regarding the sequence is exactly the opposite), they went the way of putting forward absurd demands for a ceasefire - in particular, the cessation of any military assistance to Ukraine ," writes Yakhno and notes that he considers this absurd, because Russia itself is not disarming. " Europe sees this, which, taking into account security cooperation with the US, has actually already begun a new policy of strengthening the defense capabilities of the region (and Ukraine, as a part of it, is also part of this policy)."
In the third step, the Russians, as the expert points out, began to perceive the ceasefire proposal selectively, discussing what was beneficial to them, and not from the position of a real desire to achieve a ceasefire in the sky, at sea, and on land.
"That is, hybridity as the Russian Federation's approach is preserved - therefore the fears of the Black Sea basin countries are quite understandable," she concludes.
Recall that negotiations between the American and Russian delegations have begun in Saudi Arabia, at which, according to military man and blogger Yuri Kasyanov, a "familiar scenario" is being prepared for Ukraine.