President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs on Saturday called on NATO to strengthen the protection of the Baltic states, citing Russia's violations of the Alliance's airspace and supporting a similar call from Lithuania, writes Reuters.
Patrolling the Baltic airspace with appropriate rules of engagement should be a priority, according to Rinkēvičs.
In early September, Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakalienė stated that Vilnius had prepared a document on changing the defense mission to include additional capabilities, including ground-based air defense systems.
Since 2004, NATO aircraft have been patrolling the skies over the Baltic states and are on standby to take off and intercept aircraft that have entered the Alliance's airspace.
After the incident over Poland, NATO launched an operation called "Eastern Guard" to strengthen defense across the entire eastern flank. However, Baltic officials stated that they still require additional protection. NATO makes decisions based on consensus among its 32 members and has yet to respond to calls to change the mission.
Photo: Pierre Crom