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Western media misquotes Moscow on NATO expansion threat Newsweek issues correction over misquote on Russian NATO demands
(about 3 hours later)
Newsweek earlier claimed that Russia won’t end the Ukraine conflict until the bloc “pulls out of the Baltics,” citing a top diplomat The outlet earlier claimed that Russia won’t end the Ukraine conflict until the bloc “pulls out of the Baltics,” citing a top diplomat
A Western news outlet has misrepresented statements made by a senior Russian official on NATO expansion toward its borders, in an apparent attempt to fuel the narrative that Russia poses a threat to European members of the US-led military bloc. Newsweek has issued a correction after publishing a report that inaccurately attributed a demand by a senior Russian official for NATO to withdraw troops from the Baltic states.
The US-based weekly Newsweek published an article earlier this week titled “Russia won’t end Ukraine war until NATO ‘pulls out’ of Baltics: Moscow,” in which it claimed that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who oversees relations with the Americas, non-proliferation, and arms control, made the remarks in an interview with TASS news agency. The original article, published earlier this week, carried the headline: “Russia won’t end Ukraine war until NATO ‘pulls out’ of Baltics: Moscow.” The report cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and suggested he had directly called for NATO to leave Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a condition for ending the conflict in Ukraine.
“The Ukraine war won’t end until NATO withdraws troops from the Baltics, a top Russian official has warned,” Newsweek wrote. However, Ryabkov made no specific mention of the Baltics in the interview cited by Newsweek. His comments, published by the Russian news agency TASS, referenced NATO’s military posture in “Eastern Europe,” not the Baltic region by name.
However, in Ryabkov’s quotes, there was no mention of the Baltic states. Following criticism – including from Latvia’s ambassador to NATO, Maris Riekstins, who called the report “very strange” – Newsweek updated both the article’s headline and its content. A disclaimer was added noting that the piece had been “updated to reflect that Sergei Ryabkov did not reference the Baltic states.”
Two days after publication, the outlet added a disclaimer, stating it had “updated” both the headline and the text “to reflect that Sergei Ryabkov did not reference the Baltic states, but rather NATO’s ‘Eastern European contingent’.” Despite the correction, the initial version of the story circulated widely and was picked up by other media outlets, including Lithuania’s state broadcaster LRT. Some of these reports included additional commentary from Baltic officials expressing concern over potential Russian aggression toward the region – a claim Moscow has repeatedly denied.
The correction came after Latvia’s ambassador to NATO, Maris Riekstins, criticized the report. “He didn’t make any reference to Baltic states,” Riekstins posted on X, calling Newsweek’s interpretation “very strange.” In the TASS interview, Ryabkov reiterated Moscow’s longstanding opposition to NATO expansion near Russia’s borders and called for “legally binding” security guarantees. He said that “reducing NATO’s contingent in Eastern Europe would probably benefit the security of the entire continent,” but did not single out any country.
Despite the correction, Newsweek’s claim was picked up by several other outlets, including Lithuanian state broadcaster LRT, which cited the original headline while adding comments from “Baltic officials and observers” alleging that Russia plans to attack the region after the Ukraine conflict ends – an accusation Moscow has dismissed as “nonsense.” “The American side requires practical steps aimed at eliminating the root causes of the fundamental contradictions between us in the area of security,” Ryabkov said. “Among these causes, NATO expansion is in the foreground.”
In the interview with TASS Ryabkov discussed the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, including NATO expansion toward Russia’s borders and Western support for Ukraine’s ambition to join the bloc. He stressed that to deescalate tensions and normalize Russia-US relations, Washington must “show respect for Russia’s fundamental interests,” particularly its border security. He also insisted that resolving the Ukraine conflict and normalizing Russia’s relations with the West would require addressing what he called Russia’s “fundamental interests,” including opposition to the deployment of strike weapons near its territory.
“The American side requires practical steps aimed at eliminating the root causes of the fundamental contradictions between us in the area of security. Among these causes, NATO expansion is in the foreground,” Ryabkov said. “Without resolving this fundamental and most acute problem for us, it is simply impossible to resolve the current conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region.” Russia’s position on NATO enlargement has been a central issue in its conflict with Ukraine, and Russian officials have frequently cited Western military support for Kiev as a destabilizing factor. However, suggestions that Moscow has issued explicit threats to the Baltics are not supported by Ryabkov’s latest remarks.
He reiterated Russia’s demand for “legally binding and long-term guarantees of non-expansion of NATO to the East, as well as demands for non-deployment of strike weapons near Russian borders.” Ryabkov noted that Russia’s position on this “remains unchanged” and added that “reducing NATO’s contingent in Eastern Europe would probably benefit the security of the entire continent.” Newsweek has not issued a formal apology but acknowledged the inaccuracy in its updated article.
At no point in the interview did Ryabkov mention the Baltics.