The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are no stranger to being caught between the ambitions of larger outside powers while trying to forge their own path. For many years they have been criticised as being too hawkish on Russia and even Russo-phobic, often to the detriment of stronger relations between the EU and NATO and Russia. They have been told this by both American leaders and European ones, notably former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is quoted by the Russia scholar Keir Giles in his book Russia’s War on Everybody, as telling the Baltic states to ‘let history be history. I understand that you have had a hard history, and I am very sorry for it’, Sarkozy says, adding ‘we are talking about the future, and the future is Russia at our side as our partner.’

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Much has changed since Sarkozy’s quote at the 2010 NATO Summit in Lisbon, but the Baltic states still fall victim far too often to being portrayed as burdensome post-Soviet states that represent a problem for the alliance rather than a solution. Now, in 2026, it is America’s turn to revisit the historical lesson as Pentagon officials have reportedly urged the Baltic states to tone down their hawkish rhetoric towards Russia so that more cordial relations can be reached.

While the Baltic states have good reason to be sceptical of........

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