THE TROLLFIELD IN THE NORTH SEA (VG) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that Russia acted irresponsibly, unprofessionally and dangerously when an American drone was hit by a Russian warplane over the Black Sea.
To VG, Stoltenberg emphasizes that it is important that such situations do not get out of control:
– What Russia did was irresponsible, unprofessional and dangerous, says Stoltenberg, on a day trip to Troll A in the North Sea on Friday.
NATO now uses large military resources to monitor both NATO’s outer borders and so-called critical infrastructure, such as Norwegian gas production in the North Sea.
The episode with an American drone and the Russian fighter plane illustrates that war is dangerous, according to Stoltenberg:
– We have said that Russia should act professionally and responsibly in international airspace, where NATO and our partners have the full right to operate. Three of the Black Sea’s coastal states are NATO countries, he says.
It was earlier this week that a Russian fighter jet hit a propeller on a US military drone, according to the US military. The Americans believe that this led to the drone ending up in the Black Sea.
Stoltenberg acknowledges that contact was quickly established between the American and Russian military authorities
– It was important to prevent the situation from getting out of control. I am sure that this particular situation will be brought under control, he adds.
The plane hit the propeller of a US military surveillance drone of the type “Reaper”, claims the US defense.
– Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets carried out an unsafe and unprofessional interception of an unmanned MQ-9 surveillance aircraft operating in international waters over the Black Sea, the US military wrote in a press release.
