Poland has suggested such a move would be its “duty”, but the bloc appears to disagree
NATO does not want to get directly involved in a conflict with Moscow, the spokesman for the US-led bloc said on Monday, addressing demands from Ukraine and statements by Poland’s foreign minister.
Kiev has repeatedly called on its Western backers to shoot down Russian missiles and drones in its airspace as its own air defenses deteriorate. A security pact to that effect was signed with Warsaw in July.
“NATO is not a party to the conflict and will not become a party to it,” a bloc spokesman told Spanish news agency Europa Press, adding that the bloc’s responsibility is “prevent escalation”.
While each member of the bloc has the right to protect its own airspace, they must “consult closely” with others in doing so “can affect NATO as a whole”, said the spokesman.
The comments followed an interview by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski with the Financial Times in which he endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian targets in the skies over Ukraine.
“When hostile missiles are about to enter our airspace, it would be legitimate self-defense, because once they cross our airspace, the risk of debris injuring someone is significant,” Sikorski told the FT.
“NATO membership does not abrogate each country’s responsibility for protecting its own airspace — it is our constitutional duty,” Sikorski explained.
Warsaw and Kiev signed a defense pact in July that provided for discussions “aimed at examining the logic and feasibility of a possible interception” of Russian missiles and drones, but Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said this would not be done without NATO approval.
Mircea Geoana, NATO’s outgoing deputy secretary general, told the FT that the bloc respects the freedom of each member. “sovereign right to ensure national security”, but they “always consult before entering into something that could have consequences for all of us.” Poland has always been “impeccable” when it came to such queries, Geoana added.
According to Geoana, NATO has to “do everything we can to help Ukraine and do everything we can to avoid escalation.”
Last week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed plans for a “air defense shield” with NATO officials in Brussels, according to Europa Press.