An American diplomat warns NATO that the time of tolerance has passed: “Blove Russian aircraft”
Daniel Fried, Veteran American diplomat and a former high -ranking official of the State Department, warns that NATO must adopt a much firmer position than Russian military incursions. He believes that the alliance must be prepared to break the Russian aircraft that violates the airspace of its members.
Daniel Fried, American diplomat Veteran asks NATO to no longer tolerate the challenges of Russia Photo: X
In an interview for the Kyiv Post, Daniel Fried, former deputy secretary of state for European and Eurasian businesses and a member of Atlantic Council, sent a firm message: the tolerance period has ended.
“The alliance should be ready to start breaking Russian planes if they violate NATO territory And it does not comply with the orders to leave the air space ”said Fried.
His comments come against the background of intensifying Russian challenges in Europe: drones that have entered the airspace of Poland and Romania, fighter jets detected above Estonia or unidentified drones that temporarily blocked flights in Denmark and Norway. “The large number of recent incidents speaks of themselves“I say analysts.
“Turkish precedent” and changing the rules of employment
Fried recalled the 2015 incident, when Turkey brought down a Russian military plane, considering this case to follow.
“If I were in the Government, I would send private messages to the Russians to tell them to cease and tell them that, in light of sabotage and Russian drones, we will change our employment rules. I would be prepared to start with Russian military aircraft if they would enter NATO and would not respond to the requests to leave”, Explained the diplomat.
He stressed that “The time has passed when we should tolerate this type of behavior. They are engaged in a war in Ukraine and in sabotage, and we must warn them that we will no longer tolerate this”.
Moscow tests the alliance unit
Fried believes that Russia is not just about provoking the US, but the entire cohesion of NATO.
“Moscow tests if NATO is capable to act as an alliance or if it can divide Europe by Americans. I think this is about it ”he said.
The former diplomat warned that the US should not leave full responsibility to the European states on the eastern flank of the Alliance: “President Trump should support NATO and make sure that no matter how the airplanes of the eastern flank are, America is with them. We should not leave this responsibility only to Europeans. We must show that we are with the Alliance and that we will no longer tolerate such aggression”.
Trump factor: from rhetoric to action
In discussing the role of Washington, Fried warned that only words are no longer sufficient.
“It is not if the US says the right thing. It is if we are ready to act. I would prefer concrete actions. And I haven't seen that yet. I think Trump has to support his words with facts“He emphasized.
Fried also urged the European states to ask for clarity and firm commitments from Washington: “If I were instead of Europeans, I would insist on more details about what we can do together. I would not force Americans to take the initiative in all cases, but I would make sure they are in reality, not just rhetoric”.
