US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would defend Poland and the Baltic states if Russia escalated, following Moscow’s incursion into Estonia's airspace, AFP reported.
Asked whether he would help defend the EU members if Russia intensified hostilities, Trump told reporters: “Yeah, I would. I would.”
The question was posed by Augustinas Šemelis, the LRT reporter in Washington, as Trump was leaving for the funeral of the murdered right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace over the Gulf of Finland on Friday. The EU and NATO condemned the move as a new dangerous provocation, while Moscow denied the incursion.
Estonia has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting for Monday.
Asked whether he had been briefed on the events in Estonia, Trump said he had, adding, “We don't like it.”
Trump’s statement came about two weeks after some 17 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace. At the time, the US president sought to downplay the incident, suggesting the intrusion could have been a mistake.
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