"What Russia did wasn't provocative — it was unacceptable. But at no point was the situation out of NATO's control. NATO's air forces did their job. Our task was to secure allied support to rebuild that deterrence. We've managed to do that both at the UN and within NATO," Foreign Ministry Secretary General Jonatan Vseviov said, speaking about events over the past week.

"Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) read a statement at the UN backed by 50 countries — they all stood behind us and against Russia. We also managed to expose Russia's blatant lies. They claimed something untrue had happened, even though we know the facts," Vseviov said.

"The fact that Russian aircraft spent 12 minutes in our airspace — that information had to be shared with our allies. Naturally, we had to make the case to those countries that are expected to support Europe, whether by imposing sanctions on Russia or by pursuing justice in international courts, that this is part of a pattern of Russian behavior," he continued.

Vseviov said Estonia's goal is to prevent Russian aircraft from entering its airspace at all.

"That message must be delivered clearly: flying around in NATO airspace is extremely dangerous — above all for the one doing the flying. Whether Russia receives that message remains to be seen. We must, of course, be prepared for anything. But they must understand that verbal deterrence has its limits. At some point, there is no longer any guarantee that escalation can be contained," Vseviov said.

He added that NATO's response to Russia's actions is not over — the alliance is continuing to strengthen its defensive posture. "NATO will follow its words with actions. The Italians, for example, are keeping their capabilities in Estonia, even though they were scheduled to withdraw them," he said.

If Russian aircraft once again enter Estonian or other NATO airspace, the alliance will eventually run out of non-military options, Vseviov said. "There are established procedures for shooting down aircraft. An assessment is made to determine whether the criteria for such action have been met. Those criteria will not be made public," he added.

"Russia's aim is to paralyze us with fear, to divide us and intimidate us — to push us off course in our policy toward Ukraine. Our defense is to do the opposite: not to fear, not to fracture," said Vseviov.

Estonia and Palestinian recognition

Three-quarters of the UN's 193 member states have recognized a Palestinian state.

"The United Kingdom and France have issued statements to pressure Israel to change its policy and to show support for the Palestinian Authority — not Hamas, as some have claimed. We have no reason to believe the British or French support terrorism," Vseviov said.

Estonia's decision on whether to recognize Palestine is up to the government. "Estonia has expressed its support for a two-state solution. A decision will be made when we believe such recognition would be beneficial," he added.

On the question of Palestine, Estonia is prepared to vote against the United States if needed, Vseviov said.

"We'll see how our neighboring countries vote. We're gauging our allies' thinking, but ultimately we will act in Estonia's interest. We have to consider what kinds of consequences we're willing to accept, but in the end, our decisions must be based on Estonia's interests," he said.

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