Defense minister demands NATO reaction to Russian incursions into member countries' airspace
Articol de Iulia Gherman, 18 Septembrie 2024, 23:10
NATO must react to Russia's incursions into the airspace of member countries, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar believes.
He called for a coordinated and robust response from the North Atlantic Alliance at today's meeting of B9 defense ministers in Bucharest.
The Polish representative also said that next month allied defense ministers will discuss the destruction of drones violating NATO airspace.
The B9 format continues to have a key role in coordinating allied activity on NATO's eastern flank and responses to security challenges in the area, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar said.
Angel Tilvar: The B9 states are deeply concerned about the repeated incursions of Russian Federation drones and missiles into NATO airspace, as well as the escalation of tensions along NATO borders. Therefore, a robust and coordinated Allied response is needed, as well as the early implementation of NATO's rotational model of integrated air and missile defense.
Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Zalewsky also spoke of the need for coordinated allied responses in the face of increased attacks by the Russian Federation:
Pawel Zalewsky: It is necessary that at the next meeting of NATO defense ministers we set some concrete targets that will support us in detecting these attacks and destroying enemy objects. We also talked about key initiatives in this context, namely the European Shield and Spear Initiative, and the Eastern Shield Initiative.
Reporter: At the meeting, the B9 defense ministers also agreed to continue their political, military and social support to Ukraine and to support the Republic of Moldova in its European integration goals.
The talks on defense of allied space took place against the backdrop of the increasing number of Russian drones and missiles entering the airspace of several NATO states in Ukraine's neighborhood.
Romania and Latvia have most recently reported such incidents. The B9 initiative includes Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Latvia.
Translated by: Radu Matei
