Differences emerged within NATO over Russian aircraft entering its airspace.

Russian War Warning Causes NATO to Quickly Change Its Stance: Russian Fighters May Have Entered Airspace Accidentally

NATO's true intentions seem to have been tested by Russia.

After Russia issued a war warning regarding NATO shooting down a Russian fighter jet, on the 26th, a German media outlet reported that there was a quarrel within NATO about the nature of the Russian aircraft entering NATO airspace: Eastern and Northern European countries insisted that the Russian aircraft had intentionally entered their airspace, while Western and Southern European countries believed it was just an accident.

For example, a German official said that at that time, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets may have accidentally deviated from the international air corridor between Finland and Estonia, which was not worth making a big deal out of.

It is not surprising that NATO would have a division over the nature of the Russian aircraft entering its airspace.

This is similar to when Trump previously asked Europe to increase military spending. The acceptance level of Eastern European countries was clearly higher than that of Western and Southern European countries, as Eastern European countries are actually adjacent to Russia, while Western and Southern European countries have not seen Russian forces for many years. For example, Spain last saw "Russian forces" during the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939.

Moreover, if Russia truly had the capability to break through Eastern and Western Europe, increasing military spending in Southern European countries like Spain would be meaningless.

Therefore, the argument within NATO about the nature of the Russian aircraft entering its airspace essentially reflects the saying "location determines mindset": countries in the South and West of Europe, which are far away, naturally don't take it seriously, but countries in the East of Europe feel they are directly facing the muzzle of Russia.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1844502715643913/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.