(Adnkronos) – Tomorrow morning, NATO member countries will meet to discuss the incursion of Russian fighters into Estonian airspace last week, following the request for consultations by Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, who invoked Article 4 of the Atlantic Pact. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Alliance. Tallinn said it appreciated the agile response of the allies, stressing that “if it had really been necessary to use force, they were ready”.
The incident will also be the focus of a videoconference at EU level between Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and representatives of the countries on the EU’s eastern flank, namely Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, plus Ukraine, as confirmed by EU Commission spokesman Thomas Regnier during the daily press briefing. Participants will focus on security strengthening measures, including the initiative to build an “anti-drone wall”, highlighted by recent Russian drone crossings into Poland and Romania. “Member States continue to hold the reins. We will see what their interests are, how we can help them, what their capabilities are and what their needs are,” said Regnier, who does not rule out participation at ministerial level.
For Estonia, the intrusion of the three Russian Mig-31s represented not only a violation of its airspace, but also a breach of the United Nations Charter, in particular the section prohibiting the threat or use of force. Consequently, Tallinn called for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the incident within the United Nations Security Council, where Russia also sits, accusing it of intensifying pressure to test the reaction of the EU and NATO. The string of recent incidents are not isolated cases, so Tallinn believes that an “international response” to Moscow’s maneuvers is needed.
