NATO to Convene Over Russian Incursion Into Estonian Airspace
NATO’s North Atlantic Council will meet on Tuesday after Estonia invoked Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, citing an “unprecedentedly brazen” violation of its airspace by Russian fighter jets.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Reuters.
According to officials cited by Reuters, Tallinn formally requested consultations following the September 19 incident, when three Russian MiG-31 aircraft crossed into Estonian territory near the island of Vaindloo and remained for around 12 minutes.
The jets were eventually intercepted by Italian F-35s deployed under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission.
Article 4 of the treaty allows any ally to call for consultations when it perceives a threat to its territorial integrity, independence, or security. This is the first time in years that Estonia has triggered Article 4, though the clause has been invoked by other allies in past crises, including Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of the war in Syria.
Estonian officials described the airspace breach as a deliberate provocation. It follows a series of Russian incursions into NATO territory, including the September 9–10 drone incident in Poland, when nearly 20 Russian UAVs entered Polish airspace during attacks on Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump sent conflicting signals in response to the incident. Speaking at the White House on Saturday, he warned that the airspace breach “could cause big problems.”
“I don’t like it when that happens. It could cause big problems. I will soon receive a report on this event,” Trump told reporters during a briefing in the Oval Office.
Yet just a day later, when asked by journalists at a dinner at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate about his response to Russia over Estonia, Trump said: “I am not informed about Estonia.”
The upcoming NATO session is expected to focus on coordinated responses to Russia’s actions, ranging from enhanced air defense measures to new deterrence deployments along the Alliance’s eastern flank.
As The Gaze reported earlier, Estonia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace, marking the first time in 34 years of UN membership that Tallinn has formally requested such a session.