NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte "raised his voice" at Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal. The reason was the Estonian official's desire to apply Article 4 of the Alliance treaty after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace, UNN reports with reference to Fox News.
Details
According to the media, Rutte stated that if NATO were to apply Article 4 every time Russia violates someone's sovereignty with drones or cyberattacks, the Alliance would "quickly lose its strength."
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General's spokesperson said that Rutte had a conversation with Kristen Michal, in which he expressed support for Estonia. In response, the Estonian Prime Minister thanked the Alliance for its actions, said Rasmus Ruuda, head of the Estonian Government Communications Office.
Recall
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace, staying there for 12 minutes.
The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the interim chargé d'affaires of the Russian Federation in Estonia to express a protest and hand over a note regarding the violation of the country's airspace.
Also, the Estonian Foreign Minister stated that the intrusion of Russian military aircraft into the country's airspace brings the Baltic states closer to armed conflict than ever before in recent years.
In response, the Russians denied the fact that their planes violated Estonian airspace. The Kremlin stated that there was "no evidence."