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... Pentagon officials have in recent weeks asked several NATO countries to tone down their rhetoric regarding the threat posed by Russia, arguing that some statements by European leaders and officials have undermined continental security, four people familiar with the matter said.
Among the nations that have received messages urging them to keep public statements in check are Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. It was not clear if the messages, which were delivered in bilateral meetings, were conveyed to other European governments.
The US requests come as the Trump administration restarts an effort to press for a negotiated end to the full-scale war in Ukraine, now well into its fifth year. The latest push has blended incentives for Russia - including sanctions relief - with pressure on Ukraine to halt its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
Asked for comment, a Pentagon official said: "Private conversations among allies are just that, so we will not comment on these allegations."
Among the comments that have drawn US officials' attention are suggestions by European leaders that Russia is cornered and resorting to increasingly desperate measures as its invasion of Ukraine slows to a crawl, one of the people said.
Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a key figure in an ongoing review of US troop levels in Europe, was one of the US officials delivering the message, the people said. Reuters could not determine what other officials were involved.
None of the people, who include three European officials and a US official, suggested the advice was communicated in a confrontational manner.
EUROPE SHOULD AVOID "POKING" RUSSIA
The US messages reflect a debate within NATO regarding how to publicly address the threat of an increasingly assertive Russia. ...
He caught a train from Alexandria
Just a broken man in flight
Running scared with all his devils
Saying prayers all through the night
But mercy can't find him
Not in the shadows where he calls
Forsaking all his better angels
That's how every empire falls
The bells ring out on Sunday morning
Like echoes from another time
All our innocence and yearning
And sense of wonder left behind
Oh, gentle hearts remember
What was that story? Is it lost?
For when religion loses vision
That's how every empire falls
He toasts his wife and all his family
The providence he brought to bear
They raise their glasses in his honor
Although, this union they don't share
A man who lives among them
Was still a stranger to them all
For when the heart is never open
That's how every empire falls
Padlock the door and board the windows
Put the people in the street
"It's just my job, " he says "I'm sorry."
And draws a check, goes home to eat
But at night he tells his woman
"I know I hide behind the laws."
She says, "You're only taking orders."
That's how every empire falls
A bitter wind blows through the country
A hard rain falls on the sea
If terror comes without a warning
There must be something we don't see
What fire begets this fire?
Like torches thrown into the straw
If no one asks, then no one answers
That's how every empire falls
- John Prine, 2005