Polish defence ministry condemns 'aggressive' Russian manoeuvres
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
18.04.2016 10:08
Poland's deputy minister of defence has condemned what he describes as “aggressive” manoeuvres by a Russian fighter jet over the Baltic, following the latest incident in the area.
A Russian Su-27SKM jet, similar to the one that was involved in Thursday's incident. Photo: wikimedia commons/D. Pichugin
“Yet again we are faced with provocative actions that display an aggressive stance towards the entire North Atlantic Alliance (NATO),” commented Deputy Minister Bartłomiej Misiewicz.
“Watching such actions passively is only a reward for the aggressor,” he said.
The latest incident took place on Thursday 14 April, when according to the U.S. military, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was barrel-rolled by a Russian jet.
The aviation incident follows the buzzing of warship the USS Donald Cook on 11 April, while the vessel was carrying out deck landing drills with a Polish helicopter.
The following day, a similar incident occurred, and Russian jets “failed to respond to repeated safety advisories in both English and Russian,” according to the US Navy.
Deputy Minister Misiewicz has reiterated Poland's calls for a permanent presence of NATO forces in the region, in the lead up to a NATO summit in Warsaw this July.
“Poles must have a sense of security - they need to feel secure, he said.
“Of course the constant presence of troops on our territory significantly increases security.”
Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the earlier Russian manoeuvres, arguing that the USS Donald Cook could have legitimately shot down Russian jets.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry has claimed that American reports of the Thurday incident are “not consistent with reality”, claiming that the Russian jet's manoeuvres were “performed strictly in accordance with the international regulations on the use of airspace.” (nh/pk)