NATO should not shoot down Russian aircraft in its airspace unless absolutely necessary

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said that the alliance countries' aircraft should attempt to shoot down Russian planes in their airspace only "if they pose a threat," while in other cases they should be "gently guided" out of the bloc's airspace.

"We don’t have to shoot down Russian airplanes because they entered our airspace. We need a proportionate response. If a plane would pose a threat we have the authorities to shoot it down. If the plane is not posing a threat you are not going to shoot it down, then we will gently guide it out of our airspace," he said at NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s session in Ljubljana broadcast by NATO’s press service.

Responding to questions from members of parliament from the Baltic states who called on NATO to attack Russian aircraft, Rutte said that NATO is allegedly much stronger than Russia in terms of its army and air force, which is why it should act proportionally. He added that no matter how strong NATO is, its forces are insufficient to prevent the possibility of serious damage in the event of a military confrontation with Russia. Therefore, Rutte said, NATO countries must continue to increase military spending and build up their military forces. [TASS]