Belgium confirms that NATO is preparing a plan to make it easier to shoot down Russian aircraft

NATO countries are discussing new rules to make it easier to shoot down Russian military aircraft that violate the airspace of their member states. This was stated by Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken in a commentary to a correspondent of LIGA.net in Brussels.

"One of the discussions is how we can counter drones and how we can be very flexible when it comes to Russian aggression in our airspace. This is true. And it's also about rules," he said .

The minister noted that some countries have their own rules, such as Poland. But Belgium does not, because the country is "fully integrated" into NATO. Therefore, a NATO officer will decide on the rules for shooting down aircraft for the country.

According to Franken, this applies to both drones and airplanes.

"So in Belgium, the decision to shoot down an airplane or a drone is made by NATO. In other countries, it is made by a national minister or government. It's a big discussion, but I understand that it's not that simple," he emphasized .

Earlier, The Telegraph, citing its own sources, also reported that NATO is discussing new rules that could make it easier to destroy Russian fighters. According to them, the key determinants of the threat will be the aircraft's weapons and trajectory.

The plans are to be discussed at a meeting on October 15.

• on October 14, NATO Secretary General Rutte opposed shooting down Russian offending aircraft, if they do not pose a threat. They need to be "calmly" removed from the country's airspace.
• A senior NATO official explained to LIGA.net , how the alliance responds to provocations in the sky and why. According to him, it is a strategy of "cold professionalism".