US pledges Nato support as Russia ramps up air incursions

Ambassador Mike Waltz, who was confirmed on Friday, makes his first appearance at the UN Security Council

Mike Waltz, the new US ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council on Monday that Washington stands with its Nato allies and will help defend the entirety of the alliance's territory after a series of Russian air incursions in Eastern Europe and the Baltic.

The latest breach came in Estonia last week, with that country's government saying Russian military jets had violated its airspace.

“The United States stands by our Nato allies in the face of these airspace violations,” Mr Waltz, who was confirmed late on Friday, told an emergency meeting requested by Estonia. “I want to take this first opportunity to repeat, and to emphasise, the United States and our allies will defend every inch of Nato territory.”

Mr Waltz previously served as head of the National Security Council but he was removed from the position and nominated for UN envoy after he inadvertently added a journalist to a private government chat focused on US strikes on Yemen earlier this year.

He said Russian jets had flown within about 20km of the Estonian parliament. Russia has denied claims that Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace last week for a total of 12 minutes. Nato officials believe the incursion was designed to test Nato's resolve and its response.

The extent to which the US remains committed to the Nato alliance it helped found in 1949 has been called into question after President Donald Trump repeatedly upbraided members for not meeting spending commitments and appeared friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he attempted to broker an end to the war in Ukraine.

Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August. Getty Images / AFP

“At a time when President Trump and the United States has been focused, and spent an enormous amount of time and effort to end this horrific war between Russia and Ukraine, we expect Russia to seek ways to de-escalate – not risk expansion,” Mr Waltz said.

The UK's Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper warned that Russia's incursions into Nato territory risked triggering an armed conflict. Other western ministers echoed her concerns. Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, dismissed Europe's concerns as “baseless”.

Earlier this month, Poland's airspace was violated by 19 drones, according to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. On Monday, he said Poland is prepared to shoot down foreign aircraft that cross into its airspace without authorisation.

“We will most certainly take decisions to shoot down flying objects when they violate our territory and fly over Poland,” Mr Tusk said. “There is no room for discussion here.”

Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told the Security Council that a Russian attack drone flew for almost an hour over Romanian territory on September 13. “Russian drones have also been found in Latvia and Lithuania, our neighbouring countries,” he said. “Russia's dangerous behaviour cannot be tolerated.”