Estonia says airspace violated by Russia plane
Iran Press TV
Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:29PM GMT
Estonia says its airspace was violated by a Russian plane over the weekend, denouncing Moscow's recent moves in the Baltics as "unnecessarily provocative."
'We had at least one incident of our sovereign airspace violation…during the weekend," said Estonian Defense Minister Sven Mikser on Friday.
'We've seen large-scale movements in the air.… We've seen long-range strategic bombers flying, which are not usual visitors in our region. Those moves are unnecessarily provocative," added the Estonian official.
Mikser warned Moscow that any aggression against Estonia or any other member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will provoke "an immediate and decisive response."
Estonia and the two other Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, once dominated by Moscow's rule, have recently joined NATO.
Meanwhile, Poland, also a NATO member, has expressed concern over Russia's operations in the Baltic region. Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak on Thursday voiced unease at the 'unprecedented Russian activity from its Baltic fleet to flights over the Baltic sea.'
NATO and the US accuse Moscow of supporting pro-Russia forces in east Ukraine, saying Russia's military presence in Ukraine poses a security threat to all other neighboring states. Russia has strongly dismissed the allegations.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev's military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.
FNR/HMV/SS
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
