Pentagon urges Europeans to tone down rhetoric on Russia US officials have asked NATO members, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to tone down public statements about the Russian threat. Washington believes that the claims that Russia is "backed into a corner" increase tensions and harm European security. Pentagon official Elbridge Colby advised the Baltic states not to provoke Moscow with impassioned statements, while Estonian representatives were urged to be more restrained in their communications. These requests are in line with the Trump administration's efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the conflict.