Nato ‘ready and willing’ to ‘defend every inch of allied territory,’ Rutte says
Nato’s Rutte is speaking now, and begins with comments along the lines of his earlier “strong” statement “of solidarity and resolve” issued by the North Atlantic Council (12:33).
He says they “affirmed yet again that our shared commitment to collective defence is unshakable.”
“We do not want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not, but we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory,” he says.
He is now turning to questions.
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Key events
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43m ago
Catch up: Danish PM says airport drone incursion was a ‘serious attack’ on critical infrastructure
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1h ago
‘Too early to say’ what’s behind Copenhagen drone incident, Nato’s Rutte says
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1h ago
‘No immediate threat’ in Estonian airspace violation incident, Rutte says
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1h ago
Nato ‘ready and willing’ to ‘defend every inch of allied territory,’ Rutte says
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Nato’s Rutte gives press conference after North Atlantic Council meeting on Estonia
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Norway says Russia violated Norwegian airspace three times this year
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Russia’s actions are ‘escalatory, risk miscalculation, endanger lives,’ Nato says
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Russia denies involvement in drone incident over Copenhagen airport
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Drone incidents in Denmark, Norway fit pattern of Russian behaviour, EU spokesperson says
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At least two dead in Ukraine after Russian drone, missile attacks overnight
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Nato meeting on Russian incursion into Estonian airspace
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Danish PM says ‘cannot rule out’ Russian involvement
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Danish army involved in investigation into Copenhagen drones
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Morning opening: Drones paralyse Nordic airports
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Defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish reporters he was not in a position to comment on last night’s events at Copenhagen airport, as it was still “being mapped out.”
In a clip for TV2, he said that Denmark will “have to do more in relation to combating drones” and take new initiative to protect the country’s critical infrastructure.
In a separate comment reported by DR, he said Denmark already had existing capabilities to fight against drones, but declined to go into details.
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Catch up: Danish PM says airport drone incursion was a ‘serious attack’ on critical infrastructure
Miranda Bryant
If you’re only joining us now, here’s our write up on what happened last night as Copenhagen airport had to close for several hours after reported drone sightings, by our Nordic correspondent Miranda Bryant.
A bord displays flight informations at the Copenhagen Airport in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photograph: Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images
The Danish prime minister has said the country was subjected to the “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” after a drone incursion shut Copenhagen airport for several hours.
Mette Frederiksen said authorities were still investigating who was behind the suspected hybrid attack, but she said she could not rule out Russia.
Danish police said two or three large drones that were seen on Monday night close to the airport, which is also the main airport for southern Sweden, appeared to have been flown by a “capable operator” who was looking to show that they had particular capabilities. No suspects have so far been identified.
The drones in Denmark came from multiple directions, turning their lights on and off for several hours before disappearing.
Oslo airport, Norway’s main aviation hub, was also forced to close for three hours after two drones were observed there.
Tens of thousands of passengers were left stranded in the Nordic region by the two incidents and flights had to be diverted. Authorities in Denmark and Norway are investigating whether the two sightings were related.
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Rutte also gets asked about Denmark and Norway once again, and what Nato could do to respond to these incidents.
He repeats his earlier line that it’s too early to talk about what caused the disruption (13:21), and that Nato has shown in previous incidents that it “will act decisively and quickly” and that this should provide some reassurance.
“Russians know … that if necessary, we will not hesitate,” he says.
This concludes the press conference.
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Rutte keeps repeating his key line that what Russians are doing “whether intentional or not” is “reckless,” “not acceptable” and “should stop.”
He says these provocations will not discourage Nato from supporting Ukraine “if that is what they might be thinking they could achieve.”
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‘Too early to say’ what’s behind Copenhagen drone incident, Nato’s Rutte says
Rutte is also asked about Copenhagen, and says he just spoke with Danish PM Frederiksen, but refuses to say if there’s a link with Russia.
He says the incidents involved “three big drones” and “the Danes are at this moment exactly assessing what happened to make sure what is behind this.”
“We are in very close contact on this, so it is too early to say,” he says.
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Rutte gets asked if he’s not concerned that it took 12 minutes to escort Russian MiG from Estonian airspace.
He says Nato will always react with “calm and determination,” and he hails pilots for “acting so decisively and so quickly.”
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Rutte sticks to his main message on deterrence as he says that “our message to the Russians is clear, we will defend every inch of allied territory.”
We will make sure that we can always defend and deter when necessary.
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Rutte says that the alliance’s response to the Estonian incident was “quick and decisive,” and talks about the importance of the new Eastern Sentry initiative to make sure Nato is ready to react when needed, deploying the latest drone technology.
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‘No immediate threat’ in Estonian airspace violation incident, Rutte says
Rutte also gets asked if Nato is now prepared to shoot down Russian planes over Nato territory.
He says all decisions will be taken “in real time, based on available intelligence regarding the threat posed by the aircraft,” and says SACEUR Alexus G. Grynkewich has “the overall prerogative and responsibility” to respond.
Asked further about it, he says that in the case of the Russian incursion into Estonia it was assessed the jets posed “no immediate threat,” and so they were escorted out of Estonian airspace without a stronger reaction.
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Nato ‘ready and willing’ to ‘defend every inch of allied territory,’ Rutte says
Nato’s Rutte is speaking now, and begins with comments along the lines of his earlier “strong” statement “of solidarity and resolve” issued by the North Atlantic Council (12:33).
He says they “affirmed yet again that our shared commitment to collective defence is unshakable.”
“We do not want to see a continuation of this dangerous pattern by Russia, intentional or not, but we stand ready and willing to continue to defend every inch of allied territory,” he says.
He is now turning to questions.
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Nato’s Rutte gives press conference after North Atlantic Council meeting on Estonia
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is about to start his press conference after this morning’s meeting on the Russian violation of Estonian airspace last week.
I think we can safely assume he will get asked about Denmark too.
You can watch it below, but I will bring you all the key lines here.
Mark Rutte press conference after Russian ‘violation’ of Estonian airspace – watch liveShare
Norway says Russia violated Norwegian airspace three times this year
In a separate statement issued after Nato meeting earlier today, the Norwegian government has joined in condemnation of Russia’s violation of Estonian airspace last week.
But it also revealed that Russia has violated Norwegian airspace three times over spring and summer this year.
“The incidents in Norway are smaller in scope than the violations against Estonia, Poland and Romania, in terms of both location and duration. They are nevertheless incidents that we view very seriously,” Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
He added that two incidents occurred over the sea northeast of Vardø in April and August, and the third over an uninhabited area along the land border in East Finnmark in July.
The border violations – involving fighter jets SU-24, SU-33 and L410 Turbolet aircraft – lasted between one and four minutes, he said, noting that Norway could not determine if they were deliberate or “due to navigation errors.”
“Regardless of the reason, this is not acceptable and we have made that clear to the Russian authorities,” Støre said.
ShareJakub Krupa
We should hear from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte in the next half hour or so, too and I will bring you all the key lines here.
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Russia’s actions are ‘escalatory, risk miscalculation, endanger lives,’ Nato says
Nato’s North Atlantic Council, which brings together all the allies, said it “strongly condemns” Russia’s “dangerous” violation of Estonian airspace last week.
In a strongly worded statement, it said the incursion was “part of a wider pattern of increasingly irresponsible Russian behaviour.”
“This is the second time in two weeks that the North Atlantic Council has met under Article 4,” it said, with the first meeting called after the large-scale violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones.
It added that “several other Allies – including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania – have also recently experienced airspace violations by Russia.”
“Russia bears full responsibility for these actions, which are escalatory, risk miscalculation and endanger lives. They must stop.”
The alliance stressed that it would “reinforce our capabilities and strengthen our deterrence and defence posture, including through effective air defence.”
“Russia should be in no doubt: Nato and Allies will employ, in accordance with international law, all necessary military and non-military tools to defend ourselves and deter all threats from all directions. We will continue to respond in the manner, timing, and domain of our choosing. Our commitment to Article 5 is ironclad.”
The statement stressed that “allies will not be deterred by these and other irresponsible acts by Russia from their enduring commitments to support Ukraine, whose security contributes to ours, in the exercise of its inherent right to self-defence against Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war of aggression.”
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