NATO countries can shoot down Russian planes if they violate the airspace of alliance members, Czech President Petr Pavel said on national television.
„Violation of airspace is a pretext for activating defense mechanisms and therefore shooting down such a plane. "And no one, neither from our side nor from the Russian side, would want this to happen," he said.
According to him, NATO must respond adequately to a possible violation of airspace by Russian aircraft, "including by military means," Pavel added.
On Friday, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced that Estonia had decided to request consultations with NATO in accordance with Article 4 of the alliance's charter due to an alleged violation of its airspace by Russian aircraft.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that three MiG-31 fighter jets had made a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airport in the Kaliningrad region on Friday. The flight was carried out "in strict compliance with international airspace rules and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring."
During the flight, the Russian plane did not deviate from the agreed air route and did not violate Estonian airspace. The flight path passed over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, more than three kilometers from the island of Vaindlo, Moscow claims.