Russia accuses Estonia of making false airspace incursion allegation to whip up tensions

Russia on Monday accused NATO member state Estonia of falsely claiming that Russian military jets had violated its airspace last week, saying Tallinn had no evidence to back up its claim and was seeking to ratchet up East-West tensions.

Estonia said on Friday that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had entered Estonian airspace without permission and stayed for a total of 12 minutes before they were forced to withdraw in an episode that Western officials said was designed to test NATO’s readiness and resolve.

The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss the matter later on Monday, and NATO Article 4 consultations about the incident, which came just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace prompting NATO jets to shoot some of them down, are due to take place on Tuesday.

Asked about Estonia’s allegation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Tallinn of making false statements.

“We never heard in the Estonian statement that they have objective monitoring data (to back up their claim),” Peskov told reporters.

“That is why we consider such words to be empty, unfounded and a continuation of a completely reckless pattern of escalating tensions and provoking a confrontational atmosphere,” he added.

Peskov, who noted that the Russian Defence Ministry had categorically denied the Estonian accusation, said Russian pilots always operated in accordance with international law.