Robertas Kaunas
Role at the time: Lithuanian minister of national defence, speaking to reporters, quoted by LRT
Challenged the characterization
Response to this claim
Pentagon officials, including Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, asked Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in recent weeks to tone down their public rhetoric about the threat posed by Russia.
“What we speak is always based on facts. If a Russian drone flew in, we say that a Russian drone flew in.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Pentagon urges Baltic states to tone down rhetoric on Russia - mediaFull article
Why we used this label
The reference point is the Pentagon's reported request that the Baltic states tone down their public rhetoric about Russia. Kaunas says Lithuania's statements are factual and not meant to provoke, challenging the premise that they are unhelpful rhetoric.