Estonia's Prime Minister Refused To Hold Back From Harsh Words Directed At Putin
- 31.10.2026, 12:17
The politician responded to Washington's recommendations.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal has no intention of backing down from his sharp criticism of Moscow, as Washington reportedly demands, according to Reuters. In an interview with the website Delfi on Friday, October 30, Michał stated that Estonia will continue to speak openly about the threat posed by Russia. According to him, kowtowing to dictators only leads to humiliation, and freedom will be lost anyway in such a case.
“I’m not going to hold back. Putin is a dictator who kills women and children. And he will continue to do so until he is forced to change course,” the Estonian prime minister asserted. According to Michal, he has not received any direct requests from the U.S. to tone down his rhetoric toward Russia—the last time he met with U.S. President Donald Trump was this summer in Ankara, and the topic was not raised at that time.
When asked by Delfi, the Estonian Ministry of Defense declined to comment on U.S. demands to refrain from making harsh statements toward Russia, citing the fact that the Reuters report was based on anonymous sources.
Lithuania stated that it had not received any requests from the U.S. to tone down its rhetoric
The office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda stated that neither he nor his aides had received any requests from allies regarding statements about Russia, according to the Lithuanian media company LRT.
Earlier that same day, Reuters reported that Pentagon officials, during bilateral meetings with representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, had advised them to refrain from making harsh statements about the threat posed by Russia, explaining that this could undermine the continent’s security. In particular, according to the agency, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby recently told a representative of one of the Baltic states that it was not worth “provoking Russia.” Colby cited Michal’s remark—in which he compared Putin to a rat cornered—as an example of “inappropriate rhetoric.”