NATO warns Russia of airspace violations, will defend self, deter threats

"NATO has issued a stern warning to Russia against what it calls an increasingly irresponsible string of violations of its member states' airspace, adding that it will employ military and non-military measures to defend itself. In a statement on Tuesday, NATO said, Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad, the provision in NATO's founding treaty that commits all member states to mutual defence in the event of an attack on any one of them. list of 3 itemsend of list The statement added that the actions were escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop."

"NATO's warning came following an emergency meeting called by Estonia after the Baltic country said its airspace had been violated by Russian jets. NATO's statement said three Russian MiG-31 aircraft entered Estonian airspace for more than 10 minutes before they were confronted and forced to retreat. Moscow has accused Estonia of making unfounded accusations and pursuing a continuation of a completely reckless pattern of escalating tensions and provoking a confrontational atmosphere. Estonia summoned a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, on which Russia has a permanent seat, where it said its allegations against Russia were based on solid evidence."

"Russia is lying again, as it has lied before several times, said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, NATO chief Mark Rutte said the jets which entered Estonian airspace posed no immediate threat, and that future assessments about whether Russian jets need to be shot down will be made in real time, based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft. But if necessary, you can be assured, we will do what is necessary to defend our cities, our people, our infrastructure, Rutte told reporters."

NATO labeled multiple airspace violations dangerous and warned Russia it will use military and non-military measures to defend member states. The alliance invoked an ironclad Article 5 mutual defence commitment and described the actions as escalatory, risking miscalculation and endangering lives, saying they must stop. The warning followed an emergency meeting after Estonia reported three Russian MiG-31s entered its airspace for over ten minutes before being confronted and retreating. Russia denied the accusations and called them unfounded. Estonia summoned a UN Security Council meeting and presented what it called solid evidence. NATO leadership said the jets posed no immediate threat but pledged to defend cities, people and infrastructure if necessary.

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