Estonia moves to shut eastern border after Russian MiG-31s breach
Photo: Estonia proposes closing eastern border after MiG-31s breach (Getty Images)
Estonia is considering closing its eastern border after Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated the country’s airspace, ERR reports.
“I think it is appropriate to respond to this growing provocative activity by Russia by closing the eastern border. The security situation is clearly becoming tense, including on the eastern border, and I think this is a relevant response to Russia's behavior,” the opposition leader and chairman of the Isamaa (Fatherland) party, Urmas Reinsalu, stated.
However, Estonian Minister of the Interior Igor Taro noted that there is currently no discussion about restricting the land border, as the incident involved airspace. Taro added that closing the border would require a provocation on land.
Furthermore, the opposition leader Reinsalu believes Estonia should analyze the available tools for responding to Moscow’s actions. In his view, consultations with southern neighbors are also necessary to make such decisions jointly.
Russian MiGs in Estonia
On September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace and remained there for 12 minutes.
Russia has already violated Estonian airspace four times this year.
Following this, the Estonian government requested NATO to invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty.
In addition, Poland reported that on September 19, two Russian fighter jets violated the security zone of the Petrobaltic oil and gas platform in the Baltic Sea.
