🔶 The Pentagon asked NATO members to soften their tone towards Russia.
Several sources with knowledge of the matter who did not want to be heard told Reuters that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are among the countries that have received notices about setting a tone towards Russia and have been asked to show more restraint in their public statements.
It is not clear whether these messages, which were conveyed during the bilateral meetings, were also publicly conveyed to other European governments.
The American demand is raised in a situation where the administration of Donald Trump has once again resumed its efforts to promote negotiations with the aim of ending the full-scale war in Ukraine; A war that is in its fifth year.
Washington's latest efforts have been a mix of incentives for Russia, including easing sanctions and putting pressure on Ukraine to stop attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. In response to a question about the US request for NATO membership, a Pentagon official said: "Private discussions between allies are private, and for that reason we will not respond to these claims."
According to a Reuters source, some of the statements that caught the attention of senior American officials include the words of European leaders that Russia is in a dilemma and that the country is facing increasingly desperate measures, at the same time as the slowing of the progress of Russian forces in the Ukraine war.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy official, was among those who conveyed this message to the European parties.