On September 23, NATO members met urgently at Estonia's request under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty to discuss Russia's brazen violation of the country's airspace on September 19. The Alliance's leadership stressed that the bloc's response "to Russia's reckless actions will remain decisive."
Points of attention
- The activation of Article 4 marks a serious stance by NATO to defend against threats, with specific member states like Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania feeling the impacts of Russian violations.
- The public threat towards Russia underscores NATO's commitment to safeguarding member states and deterring aggression through collective defense mechanisms.
NATO publicly appealed to Russia
The Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Alexus Hrynkevich, made a statement on this occasion.
According to the latter, the new invasion is part of a broader trend of more irresponsible behavior by the aggressor country, Russia.
This is the second time in two weeks that the North Atlantic Council has held an Article 4 meeting. On September 10, the Council held consultations in response to the large-scale violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, — Alexus Hrynkevich.
Against the backdrop of recent events, he drew attention to the fact that several members of the Alliance, including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania, have felt the consequences of Russia's violation of their airspace.
Russia should have no doubts: NATO and the Alliance's member states will use all necessary military and non-military means to defend themselves and deter all threats from all sides, in accordance with international law, the bloc said in a statement.
