RT.com
24 Oct 2025, 17:22 GMT+10
Moscow earlier called threats to target its aircraft very reckless and irresponsible
NATO will target Russian jets suspected of violating its airspace only if they are deemed a threat, Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said.
Tensions between Moscow and NATO spiked last month when Estonia called for NATO-wide consultations after claiming that three Russian MIG-31 fighters briefly breached its airspace.
Moscow said the planes were on a routine flight to the exclave of Kaliningrad over neutral waters. Poland and Sweden warned after the incident that they are prepared to shoot down Russian aircraft if the alleged violations continue. The Kremlin described the statements as "very reckless and irresponsible."
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Rutte claimed that the alleged Russian incursion into Estonian airspace was "not intentional, but it was anyway reckless." These actions are "unacceptable" and have "got to stop," he said.
Asked about the possibility of NATO attacking Russian aircraft, the secretary-general replied that "there was some misunderstanding in the last couple of weeks" regarding the issue.
"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 explained.
NATO defense chiefs have been lobbying behind closed doors to expand the bloc's engagement guidelines to allow Russian jets carrying ground-attack missiles to be shot down, the Telegraph reported last week.
According to the outlet, the NATO supreme allied commander Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, has privately called for the creation of a "unified, single air and missile defense system" to deal with Russian planes. Individual NATO members currently have different rules for targeting aircraft over their territory.
READ MORE: Russias response to Tomahawk strikes would be staggering Putin
In late September, Russian Ambassador to France Aleksey Meshkov warned that if any NATO member state hits a Russian jet, it "would mean war." He noted that "quite a lot of [NATO military] planes accidentally or not accidentally violate our airspace. And no one shoots them down."
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Denmark Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Denmark Sun.
More InformationBERLIN, Germany: China has once again become Germany's largest trading partner, overtaking the United States in the first eight months...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Anti-immigrant protesters set fire to a police vehicle and attacked officers near a building housing asylum seekers...
PARIS, France: In a bold, minutes-long strike on October 19, a group of thieves carried out one of the most daring museum robberies...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Fianna Fáil MEP Barry Cowen has proposed several changes to the European Parliament's draft report on the housing...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that people who use the tricolour to claim they alone represent Irishness are dishonouring...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Extending voting rights in Irish presidential elections to people living in Northern Ireland would go too far, said...
Moscow earlier called threats to target its aircraft very reckless and irresponsible NATO will target Russian jets suspected of violating...
Brussels [Belgium], October 24 (ANI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday announced that the European Union has assured...
(Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images) Unseeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert won 36 of 45 first-service points and saved both break points...
(Photo credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images) The United States defeated China twice and World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand...
HELSINKI, 23rd October, 2025 (WAM) -- A delegation from the Ministry of Education (MoE), led by Tariq Al Hashimi, Assistant Undersecretary...
The world is spending far more on waging war than building peace USD 2.7 trillion: global military spending in 2024, a 9.5 per cent...
