(MENAFN) Mark Rutte, NATO's Secretary-General, has clarified that the alliance will only engage Russian aircraft suspected of airspace violations when they present an active threat.

Friction between the Kremlin and the Atlantic alliance intensified last month following Estonia's demand for bloc-wide consultations. Tallinn accused three Russian MIG-31 combat aircraft of temporarily penetrating its sovereign airspace.

Russian officials countered that the warplanes were conducting standard operations en route to Kaliningrad, the isolated territory, traversing international waters. Following the episode, Poland and Sweden issued warnings that future alleged breaches could result in aircraft being shot down. The Kremlin condemned such declarations as "very reckless and irresponsible."

During an interview Wednesday, Rutte characterized the purported Estonian airspace penetration as "not intentional, but it was anyway reckless." He stressed these incidents are "unacceptable" and have "got to stop."

When questioned about potential NATO strikes against Russian warplanes, the alliance chief noted that "there was some misunderstanding in the last couple of weeks" surrounding the matter.

"If necessary, NATO can take down these planes if they pose a threat. If they do not pose a threat, they will be intercepted and then gently guided outside [the bloc's airspace]," he stated.

Behind closed doors, NATO defense leadership has pushed for broader rules of engagement permitting the downing of Russian jets armed with surface-attack munitions, the Telegraph disclosed last week.

The publication revealed that US General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO's supreme allied commander Europe, has advocated privately for establishing a "unified, single air and missile defense system" to address Russian aircraft operations. Current protocols for engaging aircraft vary among individual NATO nations.

In late September, Aleksey Meshkov, Russia's Ambassador to France, cautioned that any NATO member striking a Russian military jet "would mean war." He observed that "quite a lot of [NATO military] planes accidentally or not accidentally violate our airspace. And no one shoots them down."

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