There is a threat in NATO airspace and the alliance is divided on how to respond to Russia

There are countries that want to be legitimized to use strength, but not everyone is in accordance with this step

NATO allies are divided as to whether the alliance should adopt a Russian fighter slaughtering policy that violates NATO’s airspace with some countries, including the US, Poland, and the Baltic countries, to signal that future violations should be facing the strength, including Germany, appeal to greater containment.

The issue came to light during an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday, summoned by Estonia after three Russian fighters violated Estonia’s airspace last week for 12 minutes.

Representatives from various countries, including Poland and Estonia, wanted the joint statement to the meeting to make it clear that any other violations from Russia, including manned aircraft, would be responded tightly, according to two NATO employees familiar with discussions – something that the NAT has the authority to do if necessary.

But Germany and some countries in southern Europe insisted on removing this language from the statement, NATO responsible, concerned that it was too climbed.

US general to Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, a NATO-ally commander in Europe, also made some countries concerned with Russian foray into Estonia by claiming that it was probably accidental, given the inexperience and insufficient formation of Russian pilots, according to CNN.

The final statement, approved by all 32 member countries, was somewhere in the middle.

“The NATO and its allies will use, in accordance with international law, all military and non -military instruments necessary to defend ourselves and dissuade all the threats from all directions. We will continue to respond in the moment and in the domain we choose,” he said.

The episode underlines how difficult it will be to obtain consensus on the issue, authorities said, even though Russia continued to exceed the boundaries of its attacks against Ukraine – which repeatedly diverted to the NATO territory – and the implementation of its military means near Europe.

Even President Donald Trump, who has long tried to give Russia the benefit of doubt, intervened on Tuesday, saying “yes, I agree,” when asked is thought that the born should slaughter the Russian planes that violate its airspace.

“Have already been warned”

In the last two weeks alone, Russia has launched 21 drones against Poland, some of which were slaughtered by NATO fighters; A Russian attack drone flew to Romania; Three Russian jets flew over the stony without permission and with the transponds off; And a Russian military plane flew over the low altitude a frigate of the German navy in the Baltic Sea last weekend, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

Norway also announced on Monday that Russia violated its airspace three times this year alone – twice over the sea near Vardø, in the far northeast of Norway, and once over an area uninhabited in Finnmark County in the northeast of the country.

It is not yet clear if all these incidents were intentional. , NATO, US, and Europe employees are still analyzing the possibility of drone foray into Poland, for example, being the result of an Ukrainian electronic interference that diverted them from the route.

Another NATO official told CNN that he does not see Trump’s comments as a pressure from the US President to change his policy and argued that the NATO should not do it. “It’s your comment of the moment,” explained the employee about Trump’s comment. “For our part, we respond to raids competently, while on the part of Russia, is incompetence. So why would we slaughter them?”

But for several countries in the NATO, particularly those in the eastern flank of the alliance, closest to Russia, the intention is not what matters – they believe Moscow has to face the consequences of their increasingly reckless and dangerous behavior.

“If another missile or plane enter our space without authorization – deliberately or ‘by mistake’ – and is downcast, and the wreckage fall into NATO territory, please do not complain here,” said Radek Sikorski Foreign Minister on Monday during an emergency meeting in the United Nations. “They have been warned.”

“Prudence is not cowardy”

Czech Republic President Petr Pavel said on Tuesday that “we have to respond properly, including the possibility of slaughtering Russian planes.” What has happened in recent days in Poland and Estonia, and what has been happening in Ukraine for four years, concerns all of us. If we do not keep together, sooner or later it will happen to us too. “

A NATO official told CNN that he believes Russia is probing the weaknesses of NATO defenses and collecting information about how far the alliance is willing to go to protect its airspace, a concern that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius echoed on Tuesday.

“The incursion of drones and Russian war aircraft in the airspace of Poland and Estonia and the flyfish of a German frigate in the a few days of days make it clear that Russia is literally testing the borders, including those of NATO states, with increasing frequency and intensity,” said Pistorius.

But Pistorius also opposed himself strongly to Russia’s “climbing trap” and called for calm in the NATO response.

“Prudence is not cowardice,” said Pistorius. “Prudence is not cowardice, but responsibility to your own country and peace in Europe.”

Finnish President Alexander Stubb also appealed to prudence, advising the allies on Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg to “not overdo it, but to be firm enough, because the only thing Russia understands is power.”

‘A greater risk of climbing’

Grynkewich, the US Commander of the US European Command, who performs the double position of Supreme Commander NATO ally in Europe, told the French newspaper Le Monde on Wednesday that shooting a fighter is much risky than slaughtering a drone.

“It’s a much easier decision to shoot down an unmanned drone that enters airspace,” he said. “We have to take into account factors such as: where it is, what is underneath when we shake it, what is the risk for the population if we slaughter it and what threat it represents.”

But to slaughter manned aircraft, such as fighters, clearly entails “a higher risk of climbing if there is an involvement that kills someone on both sides,” Grynkewich explained. “I can say that if there is a threat of good faith of any type of object in the air, manned or unmanned, etc., we are ready to take all the necessary measures to defend our populations.”

Grynkewich acknowledged the different approaches within NATO on this issue, saying to Le Monde that each covenant country has different expectations about when and how the NATO means should intervene. Some countries, such as Poland, want “a very wide application” of NATO’s means to face possible threats, he highlighted, but “other nations make different judgments.”

“We worked with them about what are the parameters we would like to be involved in and when they would like to take national measures instead of NATO measures,” said Grynkewich. Therefore, it is not the same in all countries, but we work closely with them to ensure that we limit the number of restrictions as much as possible, because it gives us greater tactical flexibility. “