NATO said the North Atlantic Council met this morning at Estonia's request, under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, to consult and strongly condemn the dangerous violation of Estonian airspace by Russia on September 19, BTA reported.
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) briefed the Council on the incident, in which three armed Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace for more than 10 minutes. NATO's response was swift and decisive. Allied aircraft were scrambled to intercept and escort the violators, the alliance said in a statement.
This incident is part of an increasingly irresponsible pattern of behavior by Russia. This is the second time in two weeks that the North Atlantic Council has met under Article 4, NATO said. On September 10, the Council met for consultations in response to the large-scale violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones. Several other allies, including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Romania, have also recently reported violations of their airspace by Russia. We express our full sympathy with all allies whose airspace has been violated, the statement added.
Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalating, can lead to miscalculations and endanger human lives. These actions must stop, the statement added.
NATO's response will remain firm. On September 12, we launched Operation Eastern Guard to reinforce our positions along the entire eastern flank. Russia should be in no doubt that NATO and its allies will use all necessary military and non-military means, in accordance with international law, to defend themselves and deter all threats from any direction. Our commitment under Article 5 is unwavering, the statement said.