Interesting:

Kaja Kallas:

The foreign minister of the Soviet Union said: the tactics of Russia is actually threefold.

First, you present demands and ask something that has never been yours.

Second, you present ultimatums and threats.

And third, you just wait, because there will always be people in the West who will offer you something you didn't have before. So you just have to wait them out, because the Westerners will always fold. So let's not give him this.
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Google:
This statement was quoted by Kaja Kallas, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
She recalled this historical rule of thumb during a "fireside chat" on Thursday, October 29, 2026, while speaking alongside Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand at the EU–Canada Summit in Montreal.

The Context Behind the Quote

• Who originally said it: Kallas was referencing a historically well-documented diplomatic formula attributed to long-serving Soviet officials—most famously associated with Andrei Gromyko (the Soviet Foreign Minister from 1957 to 1985) and Vyacheslav Molotov—regarding how the USSR handled negotiations with Western powers.
• Why she brought it up: Kallas used the historical quote to warn Western allies against fatigue or rushing into a bad peace deal over the war in Ukraine. She argued that Vladimir Putin is intentionally using this exact three-step Soviet playbook: maximizing unrealistic demands, issuing threats, and simply waiting for Western unity to fracture so someone will offer concessions.

We've been warned!