Next week, the North Atlantic Council will convene to discuss Russia’s violation of Estonian airspace, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said Friday evening. “NATO’s response under the Eastern Sentry mission was swift and decisive,” wrote the NATO Secretary General about the allied reaction to the violation.
The North Atlantic Council is NATO’s most important decision-making body. It is composed of representatives of all member states of the Alliance (usually ambassadors to NATO, but when necessary also foreign or defense ministers, or heads of state and government).
On Friday morning, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace near the island of Vaindloo in the Gulf of Finland and remained there for about 12 minutes. They were intercepted by allied Italian F-35s.
Estonia decided to request consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty following the incursion of Russian aircraft into its airspace, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced Friday in a post on platform X. The Russian aircraft were later intercepted by Swedish Gripens and “followed through international airspace toward Kaliningrad,“ he added.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte wrote Friday evening that he had spoken with the Estonian Prime Minister about the incident. “NATO’s response under the Eastern Sentry mission was swift and decisive,“ he stressed.
Russia denied that its MiG-31s violated Estonian airspace.“On September 19 (…) three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets conducted a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airfield in the Kaliningrad region, Russia’s enclave located between Lithuania and Poland,“ the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, described Russia’s actions as “yet another unacceptable provocation.“
“This once again underlines the urgent need to strengthen our eastern flank, deepen European defense cooperation, and increase pressure on Russia. We will present our joint response to Russia’s actions at the informal meeting of the European Council in Copenhagen on October 1,“ Costa wrote on social media.
Article 4 of NATO states: “The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened.“
NATO launched the Eastern Sentry mission in September to reinforce the Alliance’s eastern flank. It represents a new, more integrated approach to defending this part of NATO’s territory. The mission includes Danish F-16s, French Rafales, and German Eurofighters. NATO’s decision was triggered by the events of the night of September 9-10, when Russian drones entered Polish airspace. The decision followed a meeting of the North Atlantic Council, during which allies discussed the situation in light of Poland’s request for consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.