NATO allies are divided over whether the alliance should make it a policy to shoot down Russian jets that violate NATO’s airspace, with some countries including the US, Poland and Baltic nations signaling that future violations should be met with force, while others, including Germany, urge more restraint.
The issue came to a head during an emergency meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday, which was called by Estonia after three Russian fighter jets violated Estonian airspace last week for 12 minutes.
Representatives from several countries, including Poland and Estonia, wanted the joint statement following the meeting to make clear that any additional violations by Russia, including from manned aircraft, would be met with force, according to two NATO officials familiar with the discussions— something that NATO has the authority to do if necessary.
But Germany and some southern European countries pushed to remove that language from the statement, the NATO officials said, worrying it was too escalatory.
The top US general for Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, who serves as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, also gave pause to some countries in the meeting when he said the Russian incursion into Estonia was likely accidental given Russian pilots’ inexperience and insufficient training, CNN has reported.
Continue reading the complete article on the original source
