The reported warning comes as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict<\/p>\n
The Pentagon has privately urged the Baltic NATO states to rein in their increasingly aggressive war of words against Russia, warning that the rhetoric is undermining European security, Reuters reported on Friday, citing sources. The reported rebuke comes as the US intensifies its diplomatic push to settle the Ukraine conflict through negotiations with Moscow.
\nThe message was delivered by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a key figure in an ongoing review of US troop levels in Europe, who advised a Baltic official against \u201cpoking\u201d Moscow, four people familiar with the matter told the agency. Among the nations that received the warning were Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia \u2013 countries that have been more hawkish on Russia than most of their NATO counterparts.
\n\u201cWe are helping you. The Americans are there,\u201d one European official told Reuters, describing Washington\u2019s message. \u201cJust don\u2019t be loud. Don\u2019t make noise.\u201d The Pentagon also reportedly urged an Estonian delegation to be \u201cmeasured\u201d in its public communications. It is unclear whether other NATO nations received a similar warning.<\/p>\n
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One European official told Reuters that Washington\u2019s advice was \u201cbaffling,\u201d claiming that Baltic intelligence services have already played down the likelihood of a direct Russian assault on NATO. The Pentagon declined to comment on private communications with NATO allies.<\/p>\n
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The warning came after Baltic officials issued a frenzy of aggressive statements against Moscow. In September, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal likened Russian President Vladimir Putin to a \u201crat in a corner.\u201d Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made similar remarks as he warned that Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia \u2013 many of which target civilian facilities \u2013 could trigger Moscow\u2019s retaliation. The jabs came despite Moscow\u2019s forces making steady progress on the battlefield.
\nMeanwhile, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze went so far as to accuse Russia of \u201cstate-sponsored terrorism\u201d over an explosives-laden drone discovered at Germany\u2019s Leipzig airport.<\/p>\n
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Putin denied Moscow was responsible, saying that Berlin failed to provide any proof while suggesting that the incident was linked to the country\u2019s own domestic woes. The Russian leader has also repeatedly dismissed speculation that Moscow could attack NATO and the EU, describing it as \u201cpolitical schizophrenia.\u201d
\nThe reported Pentagon intervention comes amid US President Donald Trump\u2019s renewed diplomatic overtures to Moscow. Following an October 9 call with Putin, Washington temporarily eased sanctions to allow Russian diesel shipments to the US and global markets, with Trump suggesting the move would alleviate pressure on American truckers and farmers.
\nUS envoy Steve Witkoff subsequently met Putin in St. Petersburg to discuss new Ukraine peace proposals, with Moscow agreeing in principle to restart trilateral talks with Washington and Kiev in November.
\nTrump\u2019s deal with Putin triggered backlash from Ukraine\u2019s Vladimir Zelensky, who denounced it as a \u201cweak decision,\u201d prompting the US president to suggest that Zelensky should be ousted to open the path to peace. Some of Ukraine\u2019s EU backers have also sounded the alarm over the US-Russia agreement, describing it as risky and undermining NATO unity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The reported warning comes as the Trump administration ramps up efforts to mediate the Ukraine conflict The Pentagon has privately urged the Baltic NATO states to rein in their increasingly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40824,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t