Russian drone incursions into NATO member states risk escalating into "an exchange of military force against each other", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys warned in an interview with "Reuters".
He avoided using the word "conflict".
Poland shot down drones that entered its airspace during a massive Russian attack in western Ukraine on Monday. Warsaw called the incursion "an act of aggression" and marked the first time an Alliance member has fired a shot during the war.
"Nobody is safe here, nobody is safe in the region, nobody is safe in Europe and within the Alliance, because these incidents are very close to situations where everything will escalate," Budris stressed.
"We have a strong interest - probably the strongest and the biggest - to avoid these scenarios. Scenarios similar to those in some situations where we exchange the use of military force against each other," he noted when asked if such incidents risked drawing NATO into direct conflict with Russia.
The Baltic country - a member of both NATO and the European Union - borders Russia and its ally Belarus. Budris explained that she had not received confirmation that the incursion of Russian drones into neighboring Poland was intentional.
Russia has a responsibility to avoid combat drones flying over NATO territory, and NATO must send a "strong message to Russia that they are dealing with something that could escalate", he pointed out.
"It is in everyone's interest to avoid this, including Russia", the minister stressed.
According to him, the Alliance should work to increase air defense in the Baltic states and in Poland, which border Russia or Belarus.