The Pentagon has asked the Baltic states to soften their rhetoric toward Moscow, according to Reuters sources, during bilateral meetings with representatives of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the Pentagon advised them to avoid harsh public statements about the threat from Russia. One of the officials who relayed such requests to NATO allies was US Under Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Elbridge Colby (pictured), who plays a central role in reviewing US troop levels in Europe. During a meeting with a representative of one of the Baltic states, Colby said that there is no need to "teas Russia," writes Reuters. According to the agency's sources, as inappropriate rhetoric, he pointed to public statements by European politicians according to which Russia was "backed into a corner like a rat." At the end of September 2026, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, called Putin a "cornered rat" and also stated that the Kremlin is sabotaging Europe because it cannot succeed in the war against Ukraine. "We help you. The Americans are here. Just don't make any noise. Don't make noise," a European official told Reuters of Washington's announcement. The Pentagon refused to comment on the information from the agency's sources and emphasized that "the private negotiations between the allies remain private." In early October, Politico reported that the Pentagon had excluded Britain, France, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from participating in a NATO working meeting to discuss the alliance's future.

The Pentagon has asked the Baltic states to soften their rhetoric toward Moscow, according to Reuters sources, during bilateral meetings with representatives of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, the Pentagon advised them to avoid harsh public statements about the threat from Russia. One of the officials who relayed such requests to NATO allies was US Under Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs Elbridge Colby (pictured), who plays a central role in reviewing US troop levels in Europe. During a meeting with a representative of one of the Baltic states, Colby said that there is no need to "teas Russia," writes Reuters. According to the agency's sources, as inappropriate rhetoric, he pointed to public statements by European politicians according to which Russia was "backed into a corner like a rat." At the end of September 2026, the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal, called Putin a "cornered rat" and also stated that the Kremlin is sabotaging Europe because it cannot succeed in the war against Ukraine. "We help you. The Americans are here. Just don't make any noise. Don't make noise," a European official told Reuters of Washington's announcement. The Pentagon refused to comment on the information from the agency's sources and emphasized that "the private negotiations between the allies remain private." In early October, Politico reported that the Pentagon had excluded Britain, France, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from participating in a NATO working meeting to discuss the alliance's future.