Trump, a reaction after three Russian fighter jets violated Estonia's airspace; “It could generate big problems”
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Photo source: Alex Brandon / AP / Profimedia
The Estonian government said the incident involved three MIG-31 Russian fighter jets that flew Finland for 12 minutes.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Estonia's air space violation could cause “big problems.” In a statement made in the Oval Office, the US president said he will “analyze” the information on this incident, Skynews reports.
“They want to inform me in a short time, so I will communicate details tonight or tomorrow,” he told journalists, according to News.ro.
Three Russian MIG-31 fighter jets entered Friday without permission in the Estonian airspace over Finland's bay and remained there for 12 minutes.
F-35 Italian fighter jets stationed in Estonia at the NATO Eastern Sentry (Eastern Santinela), along with Swedish and Finnish aircraft, responded to intrusion, and Russian planes were later “forced to escape”, as stated by Estonian Prime Minister Krisen Michal.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the Alliance's response as “fast and decisive.”
Article 4 of NATO, invoked
Estonia has applied for consultations under Article 4 of NATO treaty following this “totally unacceptable” violation, prime minister Michal announced.
The North Atlantic Council will meet at the beginning of next week to discuss the incident in detail, said NATO spokesman Allison Hart.
Article 4 of the NATO Treaty stipulates that any member country may officially bring a problem to the attention of the Council, the main decision -making body of the Alliance, which meets and discusses the following steps when the territorial integrity, political independence or security of the member country are threatened.
Poland triggered such a consultation after several Russian drones entered its air space last week.
A new incident in Poland
A few hours later after the Incident in Estonia, the Polish border police informed that two Russian fighter jets made a “low altitude flight” over a oil platform in the Baltic Sea, owned by the Polish Petbaltic Petrobaltic Company.
“Polish security services constantly monitor the situation,” said the Border Police.
They are the latest cases in which NATO member countries have reported violations of the air space by Russian aircraft and drones in recent days.
Russian drones in Poland and Romania
Last Wednesday, NATO fighter jets brought down several Russian drones that violated Polish air space during an attack on neighboring Ukraine. It was the first time NATO opened fire since the beginning of the Ukraine war. The military alliance criticized Moscow for the “absolutely dangerous” behavior.
On Sunday, Romania's airspace was violated by a Russian drone, causing Bucharest to send fighter jets.
The two F-16 aircraft were close to breaking the drone, but the pilots decided not to open the fire after evaluating the collateral risks.
