Newsweek issues correction over misquote on Russian NATO demands
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.
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.
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.'
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.
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.
'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.'
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.
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.
Newsweek has not issued a formal apology but acknowledged the inaccuracy in its updated article.
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