President Alexander Stubb has condemned Russian jets’ encroachment into Estonian airspace on Friday, calling it a "flagrant violation" and an "irresponsible act".
"We stand with our neighbour and ally Estonia. Nato and the allies responded quickly and decisively," he wrote in a post on X on Saturday morning.
Nato says that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes on Friday. The EU described it as "a dangerous provocation".
Finnish Air Force jets joined planes from Italy and Sweden to intercept the Russian aircraft and escort them back into Russian airspace. Russia has denied violating Estonian airspace.
On Friday, the Polish Border Guard also reported that two Russian fighter jets flew in the protected area of an oil rig in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Poland.
Stubb said that incident "should be seen in the context of Russia's recent actions, not as an isolated incident".
Estonia has invoked Article 4 of the Nato treaty, which leads to consultations with allies whenever a member state perceives a threat to its territorial integrity, political independence or security.
The president said that this will establish joint situational awareness and a discussion of the way forward, pointing to the alliance’s Eastern Sentry operation launched last week.
"Pressure on Russia's warfighting capabilities is also being increased by the EU's robust 19th sanctions package," Stubb added.
Valtonen: Europe must beef up its deterrence
According to Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP), Nato responded appropriately to the violation of Estonian airspace.
"The response that Nato has given to all these events has been correct. We have been there and we have responded in accordance with our policy," Valtonen on Saturday morning at the Helsinki Security Forum.
Valtonen said that Europe now understands that more needs to be done to provide sufficient deterrence.
"We simply need to build our defences to a level where we have a credible deterrent against Russia. This is really important, and the events of the last few days just underline it," she said.
Häkkänen: Moscow hopes to undermine support for Ukraine
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP) described the incident as "completely reprehensible and reckless".
Speaking on Yle's Ykkösaamu talk show on Saturday morning, Häkkänen said that it further ratchets up tensions and was "solely Russia's fault".
According to Häkkänen, it is clear that Russia has a growing desire to test the West’s decision-making ability and unity. He suggested that Moscow hopes that Nato countries will focus more on their own defence instead of diverting resources to support Ukraine's air defence.
"We need to do both at the same time, that is, support Ukraine's defence with equipment support, but at the same time focus on Nato's air defence," Häkkänen said.
The defence minister said that the response to the situation showed that Nato fighter jets and air surveillance were operating quickly and efficiently.
