NATO’s response to Russia’s violations has caused controversy, - Bloomberg
NATO allies cannot agree on a joint response to Russia's airspace violations and are publicly expressing different positions.
According to Censor.NET, Bloomberg reports on this.
On Tuesday evening, Germany warned against the risk of shooting down Russian aircraft, while US President Donald Trump almost simultaneously expressed his readiness to take a tougher stance, which was supported by Poland and the Baltic states. The day before, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Warsaw was ready to shoot down any air threats and saw no room for compromise on this issue.
As the publication notes, the differences in approach reveal an alarming situation within the Alliance, while the Kremlin is trying to test its unity. A series of incidents involving Russian aircraft violating NATO airspace has caused concern on the eastern flank of the bloc and beyond.
Estonia called for emergency meetings of NATO and the UN Security Council this week after three Russian MiG-31s had been flying over its territory in the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes. The incident came shortly after similar violations in the skies over Poland and Romania.
These cases are increasing pressure on the Alliance to develop a clear and coordinated response, otherwise its deterrence capability will be called into question.
At the same time, Germany is calling for caution. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stressed that direct attacks on Russian aircraft could become part of the "escalation trap" set by Putin.
In contrast, other allies are calling for a show of force. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs has called on NATO to respond decisively to the Kremlin's violation of airspace.
The situation attracted even more attention after Wednesday's incident: a plane carrying Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles on a flight to Lithuania experienced GPS interference.
"GPS interruptions are relatively common in eastern Europe, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine. A plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suffered a similar episode on its approach to Plovdiv airport in Bulgaria at the end of August, one of hundreds of similar incidents reported each year.
The GSP disruption, which occurred near Russia’s Kaliningrad, followed the presence of several large drones on Monday evening, triggering a shutdown of Copenhagen airport," the publication writes.
During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Donald Trump said he supports NATO allies' efforts to shoot down Russian aircraft. When asked by a journalist, he replied, "Yes, I do."
At the same time, according to Bloomberg, the official position of the United States remains vague. Trump avoided giving a direct answer to the question of whether the White House would support NATO military action against Russian aircraft over the alliance's airspace, noting that "it depends on the circumstance" but emphasised: "we’re very strong toward NATO."
Before US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuted Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's statement about Warsaw's readiness to shoot down foreign aircraft. According to Rubio, the NATO policy was to intercept foreign aircraft that aren’t attacking rather than fire at them.
On Tuesday, NATO issued a statement promising a "robust" response to the Russian incursions, and emphasised the right to use all available means, including military ones, for self-defence – a position close to Donald Tusk's firm rhetoric. Finnish President Alexander Stubb urged allies "not to overreact but be firm enough, because the only thing Russia understands is power."
At the same time, Trump stepped up his public support for Ukraine: in a social media post, he stated that, in his opinion, Ukraine, with the support of the EU, "was positioned not only to fight back but to reclaim all the territory taken by Russia since its invasion in 2022 — and perhaps more." The Kremlin responded with denials; presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov assured that Russia remains "resilience and stability." But a source familiar with Kremlin discussions noted that Trump remains in favour of playing the role of "bystander" in Russia's war against Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul welcomed the change in tone from Trump, telling that the president is "drawing the correct conclusions" from his unsuccessful efforts to prod Putin toward peace. Wadephul warned that provocative policies could backfire — first provoke NATO allies and then, in the event of an escalation, act completely surprised and discredit NATO.
