The North Atlantic Alliance will defend "every inch of its territory," but will not shoot down russian planes unless they attack NATO members. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated this in an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday, September 23.
Rubio noted that NATO allies did not threaten to shoot down russian planes. According to him, what was meant was interception, which NATO will continue to do in the event of airspace violations.
"Well, I don't think anyone said about shooting down Russian jets unless they're attacking. I think what you have seen is NATO responding to those intrusions the way we respond to them all the time, and that is when they enter your airspace or your – your defense zone, you go up and you intercept them. And that's what NATO has done, and that's what NATO will continue to do," the US Secretary of State stressed.
The United States is NATO's most important member, so the commitment to protecting NATO member states remains "firm," Rubio stressed.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on September 22, Donald Tusk said that Poland would not hesitate to shoot down air targets that violate its airspace and pose a threat, but would take a more cautious approach to situations that are "less ambiguous."
Recall, on September 19, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the russian chargé d'affaires in Estonia to express a protest and deliver a note due to the violation of airspace by three fighter jets.
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