Nausėda says allies have not asked him to soften Russia rhetoric

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and his advisers have received no requests from allies to soften their rhetoric on Russia, the presidency said on Friday in a comment to BNS, LRT reported. The statement responded to a Reuters report that Pentagon officials had asked Lithuania and several other NATO countries to moderate their remarks about the Kremlin.

“The presidency has no comment on this report. The president and his advisers have received no calls or requests from allies to soften their rhetoric on Russia,” the statement said.

Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas told BNS he had no information about such requests from the United States. He said Lithuania speaks about Russia based on facts.

Reuters based its report on four anonymous sources. One said remarks by European leaders suggesting Russia was “cornered” and taking increasingly desperate measures had drawn the attention of US officials, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had nearly stalled.

Sources said Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, who is playing a key role in reviewing the number of US troops in Europe, was among the officials who conveyed the message. Reuters could not establish which other officials were involved. One source said Colby recently told an official from one of the Baltic states that there should be no “taunting” of Russia. The source said Colby cited public statements that Russia was “cornered like a rat” as an example of unhelpful rhetoric.

It was not clear which specific statement Colby was referring to. In late September, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “rat driven into a corner”, suggesting that the Russian leader had resorted to sabotage in Europe as Moscow became increasingly bogged down in Ukraine.

The report of the US requests came as President Donald Trump’s administration renewed efforts to end the full-scale war in Ukraine through negotiations. Trump recently eased some sanctions on Moscow.