polish foreign minister says nato countries have a "responsibility" to intercept russian missiles abroad, nato responds
2024-09-03
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according to reports from the russian tv website rt and the ukrainian pravda on september 2, polish foreign minister radoslaw sikorski said that regardless of nato's objection, poland and other nato member states bordering ukraine "have the responsibility" to intercept russian missiles and drones, even if they do not fly in their own airspace. in response, a nato spokesman said that nato is not a party to the russian-ukrainian conflict and will not become part of the conflict.
polish foreign minister radoslaw sikorski source: visual china
in an interview with the financial times on september 2, sikorski said that because poland has a "constitutional obligation" to protect its territory, "when enemy missiles are about to enter our airspace, it is a legitimate self-defense measure for us (to shoot them down) because once they enter our airspace, there is a great risk of casualties from missile fragments," he said, adding that this also applies to other nato members.
in response to the polish foreign minister's remarks, a nato spokesman told the spanish media euronews that nato "has a responsibility to prevent this war from escalating further" and stressed that nato "is not a party to the conflict and will not become one". the spokesman said that each nato member state has the right to defend its own airspace, but warned that actions taken by individual countries in support of ukraine "may also affect nato as a whole", "which is why allies must continue to consult closely".
rt reported that poland and ukraine signed an agreement in july that emphasized the need for discussions, including with other partners, to "study the rationale and feasibility of intercepting missiles and drones launched in the direction of polish territory in ukrainian airspace."
however, polish defense minister władysław kościniak-kamysz stressed that poland would not shoot down russian missiles without nato approval, as some nato member states have repeatedly expressed concerns that such actions could bring the entire nato to the brink of direct armed conflict with russia.
separately, nato deputy secretary general mircea geoana stressed that while nato must "do everything possible to help ukraine," it is also working to avoid an escalation of the situation. "of course, we respect the sovereignty of each ally to maintain national security. but within nato, we always consult before taking actions that could have an impact on all of us," he said, adding that poland "has always been impeccable" in communicating with nato allies.
in commenting on the latest remarks of the polish foreign minister, russian foreign ministry spokeswoman zakharova said that poland is seeking to "escalate the conflict." rt reported that in recent months, as the russian army continued to carry out long-range strikes on ukrainian military and energy infrastructure and defense industry targets, poland has frequently deployed its air force.
