US asks Baltic states to soften rhetoric about threat from Russia...

The US has asked the Baltic states to soften their rhetoric about the threat from Russia, Reuters reports, citing four sources.

The Pentagon believes that some statements by European leaders and officials inflame tensions, undermine the continent's security and weaken diplomatic efforts.

Among the comments that caught the attention of US officials were European leaders' suggestions that Russia had been “cornered like a rat” and was resorting to increasingly desperate measures (Estonia's prime minister made such a statement in late September). One source explained that such rhetoric had been described as unhelpful, adding that a request had been made “not to provoke Russia” with such remarks.

“We are helping you. The Americans are there. Just don't make noise. Don't create noise,” a European official said, describing recent private messages from the Pentagon.

The requests were not framed in a “confrontational” manner, the agency's sources said.

The defense ministries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia did not comment on the Reuters report.