Former president of Estonia: May take 'mass casualty event' for NATO to act on Russia
Europe seems unlikely to take the threat from Russia seriously until a "mass casualty event" takes place on NATO, former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said.
Talking to British talk radio station LBC, Ilves, president 2006–2016, said: "We can see that NATO is extremely reticent to undertake any kind of action," adding: "I think that it will take a genuine tragedy before NATO will get itself in order on these issues, precisely because of this incredible reticence to undertake anything."
Estonia is expecting a stronger response from NATO in the aftermath of the incursion, Ilves said, adding "nothing really was done" to stave off further Russian aggression.
Ilves said this would be brought up at NATO this week, noting "We do think that more is required at this point, given that we have had our own third incursion."
The former president listed other "near misses" such as "bombs placed on planes that all so far have fortunately been found before they went off," and cases of "major arson," noting that Russian denials of culpability, while implausible, are "just what we have gotten used to" in this region.
Sven Sakkov, Estonia's ambassador to the UK, had previously told LBC News it is "likely that Russia will increase its blatant behavior towards its western neighbors," noting that one reason may be an attempt to discourage further aid to Ukraine.
Estonia will ask for an increased NATO presence within its country to stave off further violations, after the country requested an urgent meeting with the alliance by invoking Article 4, Sakkov noted.
Three Russian jets entered Estonian airspace without permission on Friday, hanging around for 12 minutes, longer than seen in previous airspace violations in recent times. Italian Air Force F-35s based at Ämari scrambled to intercept the planes.
Estonia has triggered NATO's Article 4, which calls for consultations when a member's security is threatened, and is expected to request a larger NATO presence, following Poland's response to the large-scale drone incursion in its airspace the previous week.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for more sanctions on Russia.
One day later, German and Swedish fighter jets intercepted a Russian IL-20 surveillance plane flying unidentified over the Baltic Sea. The aircraft, which had no flight path or radio contact, was monitored without incident.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: LBC
