Estonia convened NATO Council over Russian fighter jet incursion: statement details
Kyiv • UNN
The NATO Council condemned Russia's dangerous violation of Estonian airspace on September 19, calling it part of irresponsible behavior. The Alliance expressed solidarity with member countries and reaffirmed support for Ukraine.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Council issued a statement regarding the recent violation of the airspace of Alliance member states by Russian aircraft. This was reported by the NATO press center, according to UNN.
Details
The Council met on the morning of September 23 at the request of Estonia in accordance with Article 4 of the Washington Treaty to discuss and strongly condemn Russia's dangerous violation of Estonian airspace on September 19. They stated that Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which contribute to the escalation of the conflict, can lead to miscalculations, and pose a threat to human lives.
This incursion is part of a broader trend of increasingly irresponsible behavior by Russia. This is the second time in two weeks that the Council has met under Article 4. On September 10, the Council held consultations in response to a large-scale violation of Polish airspace by Russian unmanned aerial vehicles. Several other Alliance members, including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania, have also recently experienced violations of their airspace by Russia. We express full solidarity with all Alliance members whose airspace has been violated
NATO added that the Alliance will continue to respond to such actions by Russia, and will also support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
Recall
Recently, 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.
The country's government also announced that it was initiating consultations with allies under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
The Estonian Foreign Minister stated that the incursion 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 of their aircraft violating Estonian airspace. The Kremlin stated that there was "no evidence."