According to four sources - three European and one American - representatives of the Pentagon have said, among other things, that certain statements by European leaders undermine the continent’s security.
One person who has delivered messages of this kind is US Deputy Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby.
He is said to have recently asked a Baltic representative not to make harsh statements about Moscow, specifically saying that comments such as Russia being “cornered like a rat” are unhelpful given the current situation.
Colby did not name anyone, but last month Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called Putin “a rat in a corner” and said that, amid the slow progress on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russia had stepped up its sabotage efforts in Europe.
One European source summed up the Pentagon’s message: “We will help you. The Americans are there. Just make sure not to be loud.” It is unclear whether similar talks have also been held with representatives of countries other than Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The information comes as the Trump administration has discussed economic agreements with Moscow as part of a peace agreement with Ukraine, prompting criticism from a number of European representatives.
Neither the Pentagon, NATO nor the defense ministers of the Baltic countries would comment on the information.
What do you think?