NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday backed President Trump’s call for member countries to shoot down Russian planes that enter their airspace but suggested they should only do so once they’ve exhausted other options.
In an interview on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” Brian Kilmeade asked Rutte whether he agrees with Trump, who told a reporter, “Yes, I do,” when asked whether NATO countries should shoot down Russian jets that violate their airspace.
“Do you think that he’s right? Because Germany pushed back and said, ‘Well, we don’t think we’ll do that,” Kilmeade said. “Should they be prepared to knock down Russian drones and planes?”
“If so necessary,” Rutte said. “So, I totally agree here with President Trump, if so necessary. But our military, Brian, have trained and prepared for this. We know how to do this.”
Rutte said there have been Russian incursions into NATO airspaces for decades, and member countries know how to accurately assess situations and determine the proper course of action to protect their people.
“For over 40, 50 years — the Soviet era, and then, since the Soviet era, with the Russians — we have these incursions. So that means that the fighter pilots and the military will constantly assess the threats and whether it is necessary to escort these planes out of allied territory, the minimum,” Rutte said.
“But if so necessary, and there the president is totally right, we will also do more, and if necessary, the ultimate, to protect our people,” he continued.
Three Russian fighter jets flew into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on Friday in what the country’s prime minister, Kristen Michal, called an “unprecedented and brazen intrusion.”
Michal requested NATO Article 4 consultations. Article 4 allows NATO members to bring any issue threatening that country’s territorial integrity or political independence or security to other NATO members.
The incursion into Estonia followed a high-profile violation of Poland’s airspace the previous week, which also triggered NATO air defenses. Poland also invoked the alliance’s Article 4 pillar, convening NATO members for consultation over threats to a member.
At least 19 Russian drones crossed over into Polish airspace Sept. 9, amid a major Russian aerial assault against Ukraine.
After meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week, Trump made what many saw as an abrupt pivot away from Russia, suggesting for the first time that Ukraine could win the war, regain the land it had lost and “maybe even go further than that.”
Rutte, in his interview, rejected the suggestion that Trump has been inconsistent in his position on the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Well, I’m not sure that the president changed his mind. I think the president has been very consistent since February, when he broke the deadlock, starting the talks with President Putin. But clearly Putin is not willing to play ball,” Rutte said, when asked what happened that led to Trump’s remarks this week.
Rutte also pointed to the Kremlin’s defensive response to Trump’s comments.
“What it shows you is that the Russians are not that competent, and the president sees that. But at the same time, they are willing to sacrifice 1 million people so far, Brian, dead or seriously wounded, only to get a few square kilometers, square miles of Ukraine,” he added.
“So I think what the president is doing here is putting a lot of pressure again on the Russians: Get serious, get to the negotiating table,” he continued, “and he is willing to keep Ukraine supplying with American weapons paid for by allies. And I think that’s great news.”
