Russian air attacks are not only a problem for Russia’s immediate neighbours, they are a problem for everyone, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful has said.
“In Estonia, Russia has again violated the territorial integrity of one of its neighbours, and therefore one of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, without any provocation. We condemn this gross violation of international law. This is not the behaviour of a state seeking to preserve world peace and security, but a reckless disregard for international norms,” he said at a UN Security Council meeting convened because of the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian planes.
According to him, the latest disturbing incidents reveal two important conclusions – firstly, Russia’s continued aggression is not only directed against Ukraine, with its reckless behaviour Russia poses a serious threat to regional security as well as to global peace and stability.
Second, as Wadeful points out, unlike Ukraine, which is ready to negotiate and has repeatedly offered an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, Russia has repeatedly decided not only to continue but also to intensify its aggression.
“This must come to an end. This is a problem not only for Russia’s immediate neighbours. It is a problem for all of us. united here in our commitment to the UN Charter and its principles. Germany stands up for those principles. Russia does not. We will not rest until there is a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine. A peace based on the principles of the UN Charter and achieved at the negotiating table with Ukraine, as well as an unconditional ceasefire, is urgently needed to stop the bloodshed and lay the foundation for building trust for sincere negotiations,” the German minister emphasised.
Wadeful added that it is a shared responsibility for UN member states to hold accountable those who jeopardise peace and security.
But Russia’s representative at the UN Security Council meeting said that there is no evidence that Russia is guilty of intruding into Estonian airspace. And, in his words, there is “Russophobic hysteria.
” The flight was carried out in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace. The Russian aircraft did not deviate from the grid route, nor did they cross Estonian airspace. Their trajectory or their flight passed over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea within 3 kilometres of the island,” he claimed.
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting in response to Russia’s audacious violation of Estonian airspace last Friday.
On 19 September, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission and stayed there for a total of 12 minutes. According to the Baltic country’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, this is the fourth time since the beginning of the year that Russia has violated Estonian airspace, but today’s incident is “unprecedentedly audacious.”
Russia’s defence ministry said the Russian planes had not violated Estonian airspace and that the three Russian aircraft had performed a “planned flight” from Karelia airfield to an unspecified airfield in the Kaliningrad region in accordance with international law.
NATO called the actions another example of Russia’s “reckless behaviour” and the EU called it an “extremely dangerous provocation”. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said that this was the third such violation of EU airspace in a few days and further aggravates tensions in the region.