European diplomats warned the Kremlin this week that NATO was prepared to respond to further violations of its airspace with full force, particularly by shooting down Russian aircraft, Bloomberg reported, citing officials.
According to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were held behind closed doors, at a tense meeting in Moscow, British, French and German envoys expressed their concerns about the incursion of three MiG-31 fighter jets over Estonia last week.
After talking, they concluded that the violation was a deliberate tactic ordered by Russian commanders.
During the talks, a Russian diplomat told the Europeans that the airspace incursions were in response to Ukrainian attacks on Crimea, officials said. The Kremlin said the operations would not have been possible without NATO support, and as a result, Russia believes the alliance is already embroiled in a confrontation involving European countries.
Officials said the Russian side took detailed notes during the conversation, prompting the European team to suggest that they had been instructed to provide a detailed statement of NATO’s position to the high command.
A German government official confirmed that the meeting took place and that the ambassadors told Moscow that the violations should stop. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Thursday that he was coordinating with Paris, London and Warsaw and supported “all necessary measures.”
Representatives of Britain and France were not available to comment on the meeting.
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.
The Russian Defence Ministry stated that the Russian aircraft did not violate Estonian airspace and that the three Russian aircraft performed a “planned flight” from Karelia airfield to an unspecified airfield in Kaliningrad Oblast in accordance with international law.
On 23 September, NATO condemned Russia for violating Estonian airspace last week, saying that Russia “bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory”.
The North Atlantic Council met at Estonia’s request. The alliance promised a ” decisive ” response to Russia’s “reckless actions.”
“We will continue to respond in the way, at the time and in the area we choose. Our commitment to Article 5 is unwavering,” the statement said.
NATO countries have accused Russia of unprecedented violations of its airspace several times in the past fortnight.
The first case involved drones: about 20 drones entered Polish airspace on the night of 10 September. On 13 September, according to the Romanian Ministry of Defence, a Russian drone used by Russian forces to attack Ukraine and which entered Romanian airspace lingered over the NATO country for 50 minutes before returning back to Ukraine.