NATO Secretary-General: NATO will not shoot down military aircraft that do not pose a threat
Sputnik News, Brussels, October 15 - NATO Secretary-General Rutte said after the meeting of NATO member states' defense ministers in Brussels that NATO will not shoot down military aircraft entering the airspace of NATO member states unless these aircraft pose a direct threat.
Rutte said: "We do not intend to shoot down planes in NATO airspace if they do not pose a threat."
In September, Estonia falsely claimed that Russian aircraft violated Estonian airspace over the Baltic Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that on September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets completed a planned flight from Karelia to an airport in Kaliningrad. The flight strictly followed the international law regulations for the use of airspace, did not enter the borders of other countries, and can be confirmed by objective detection equipment. During the flight, Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed air route, nor did they violate Estonian airspace. The flight path passed over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea three kilometers away from the Vaindloo Island.
Rutte pointed out that in the opposite case, NATO has all the necessary decision-making authority to make the aircraft no longer pose a threat.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846056278706176/
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