The Wall Street Journal sat down recently with Gen. Philip Breedlove, the top commander of U.S. and alliance forces in Europe, to discuss tensions with Russia. Gen. Breedlove will step down Tuesday as the top commander in Europe, handing the reins to Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti. Here are edited excerpts of the interview:

WSJ: When you came into this command in 2013, did the U.S. and its allies have a sufficiently skeptical view of Russia, given the tensions that developed since?

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