Estonia said Sunday the UN Security Council would hold an emergency meeting on the violation of the country’s airspace by Russian fighter jets, an incursion condemned by US President Donald Trump.
NATO forces intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighters on Friday after they entered Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland, triggering complaints of a dangerous new provocation from the transatlantic alliance and the European Union, but a denial from Moscow.
The Security Council will convene an emergency session Monday “in response to Russia’s brazen violation of Estonian airspace”, said a statement from the Estonian foreign ministry.
The incursion came after fellow NATO member Poland said earlier this month Russian drones had repeatedly violated its airspace during an attack on Ukraine, in what Warsaw condemned as an “act of aggression”.
Trump on Sunday joined the condemnation of the latest airspace violation, vowing to defend Poland and the Baltic states in case of escalation from Russia.
Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensifies hostilities, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I would. I would.”
Trump’s at-times friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin have appeared to fray as the latter continues to press his invasion of Ukraine despite the US leader’s push for peace.
Trump said Thursday at the close of a state visit to Britain that Putin had “really let me down” by continuing the war, now in its fourth year.
