Greece Joins UN Security Council Emergency Meeting on Russian Airspace Violation in Estonia

Greece will participate in an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, September 22, to address the recent violation of Estonian airspace by Russian military aircraft.

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will represent Greece at the session, which was convened at Estonia’s request and supported by Greece, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, and all NATO members. The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. local time during UN General Assembly High-Level Week.

In a letter to the Security Council on September 20, Estonia reported that three Russian fighter jets entered its airspace over the Baltic Sea on September 19, remaining there for 12 minutes. The Russian pilots reportedly ignored repeated warnings from two Italian F-35 pilots participating in NATO’s Baltic Air Surveillance mission from Amari base before being escorted out of Estonian airspace.

Estonian officials described the incident as a “dangerous escalation,” noting that the jets flew just 10 km above the mainland and approached the capital, Tallinn. According to the letter, Russia has violated Estonian airspace four times this year. Moscow, however, denies the incident, claiming its aircraft were flying over international waters en route to Kaliningrad.

The Security Council will be briefed by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia, and the Americas, Miroslav Genca. This follows a similar recent session on September 12 regarding Russia’s airspace violations over Poland, marking two incidents in less than two weeks involving NATO member states.