NATO military leaders meet to discuss Russian airspace violations

NATO chiefs-of-staff gathered in Riga on Saturday for talks on recent airspace violations by Russian forces.

“Today, I express full and unequivocal solidarity with all allies whose airspace has been breached. The alliance’s response has been robust and will only continue to strengthen,” Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of the 32-member organization’s Military Committee, said in his opening address.

“These acts are escalatory reckless and endanger lives, and Russia bears full responsibility for these actions,” Dragone said.

Dragone pointed to historical events, noting that on September 25, 1939, Soviet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft had violated the airspace of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, describing this as “the opening signal of Moscow’s determination to impose its will.”

“The moment should resonate deeply with us today,” he said.

In his address as host, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said: “The immediate priority today is clearly air defence.”

He added, “As I’ve already noted, Russia continues a pattern of provocations, most recently recklessly violating the airspace of Poland and Estonia.”

Rinkēvičs called for a continuing robust response that transformed Baltic air policing into a Baltic air-defence mission with respective rules of engagement.

Russian forces have recently conducted a series of potentially dangerous incursions into NATO airspace over the Baltics and Poland. The incursions have been linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

NATO’s Military Committee advises NATO countries on military issues. One of the aims of the current conference is to implement decisions taken at the NATO summit in The Hague in late June.