NATO Escorts Russian Jets from Estonian Airspace

(MENAFN) NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated on Tuesday that alliance aircraft intercepted and escorted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets out of Estonian airspace last week, after the alleged intrusion prompted emergency consultations under the alliance’s founding treaty.

Speaking at a press conference following a North Atlantic Council meeting, Rutte explained: "What I'm seeing is that our military system works like this, that we will always assess the dangers, whether it is a direct threat to our overall defense, our posture and that we will always act accordingly. But in this case, there was no immediate threat assessed. So what happened is that Swedish, Finnish and Italian aircraft were active to make sure that these three MiGs were moved out of Estonian airspace."

The episode on Friday, which Tallinn reported lasted 12 minutes, represents the latest in a series of suspected Russian airspace breaches.

Earlier, Poland reported that its forces had shot down Russian drones that entered its territory on September 10, marking the first direct NATO-Russia encounter since the Ukraine war began.

At Estonia’s request, NATO invoked Article 4 of the treaty, enabling any member to call for consultations if its security is perceived to be at risk.

Following the session, NATO members released what Rutte described as "a strong statement of solidarity and resolve."

He added, "They condemned Russia’s reckless actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. Allies affirmed yet again that our shared commitment to collective defense is unshakeable."

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