Deividas Matulionis
Role at the time: Senior national security adviser to Lithuania's president
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Matulionis says Lithuania needs concrete action rather than constant rhetorical escalation. He supports calm but firm language, while saying the presidency received no Pentagon request and Lithuania's rhetoric has not changed.
“reikalingi veiksmai, o ne nuolatinis būgnų tratinimas.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)Matulionis says there is no need to deliberately provoke or irritate RussiaMatulionis's ELTA savaitė interview, as reported by ELTA and published by LRT.
Why we used this label
The reference is the call for restrained rhetoric about Russia. Matulionis supports that substantive approach, including avoiding deliberate provocation, but does not confirm or endorse a U.S. instruction to Lithuania.