The US Congress obliged President Joe Biden to develop a security strategy for the Black Sea region

 The National Defense Authorization Act , among other things, entrusts president with the task of instructing the US National Security Council to develop an interagency strategy for the Black Sea region and its states (hereinafter - the Strategy).

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the mentioned strategic planning document is long-awaited in international expert and political circles and is absolutely necessary for restoring the security of the Black Sea region, since the United States traditionally paid the main attention to the Norh Atlantics, Indo-Pacific and Arctic directions. The Black Sea security was on the sidelines of US attention The lack of a clear American security policy in relation to the Black Sea states led to the US misunderstanding of the real situation in the region, which began to become critical.

The aforementioned Act established that the Strategy will be focused on three main areas of US activity.

The security direction will include:

1. a plan to increase the level of interdepartmental coordination regarding the Black Sea region, in particular with NATO and the EU;
2. a plan for coordinating and synchronizing security assistance with the Black Sea states, particularly with a focus on Ukraine;
3. a plan to deepen cooperation with the states of the region in the field of countering Russian disinformation and propaganda. 

The direction of economic prosperity will include:

1. a strategy for studying opportunities for expanding the boundaries of economic cooperation with the region and its states, direct foreign investments, initiatives to strengthen the rule of law, as well as reducing the harmful economic influence of the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China in the region;
2. a strategy for all relevant ministries and agencies that contribute to the economic development of the United States to expand the presence and find new opportunities for private investment in the region;
3. assessment of energy security, which will focus on the need to replace Russian energy resources (with other resources) and the importance of wider energy diversification;
4. assessment of possible solutions in the field of food security.

The direction of strengthening democratic stability will be focused on:

1. a plan to strengthen independent media and US-backed media initiatives to combat foreign malign influence in the Black Sea region;
2. plan to strengthen the mobilization of initiatives initiated by the State Department and the US Agency for International Development to counter Russian propaganda and disinformation in the Black Sea region

 In turn, the President of the United States determines any necessary authority or budgetary resources that the US executive branch will need to implement the Strategy in fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

As we can see from the content of the document, its main goal is to strengthen security in our region and, of course, strengthen the role of the United States in this process. Special attention is also paid to the study of the investment attractiveness of the Black Sea region, which is a sure sign of the seriousness of the superpower's intentions in implementing the plan.

Author: Bogdan Ustymenko, associate expert of the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI", Ph.D.