Frontline states bordering Russia, backed by France and the UK, have initiated the discussions, which have since broadened to a larger group in the 32-strong alliance.<\/p>\n
Proposals include arming surveillance drones used to collect intelligence on Russian military activities, and lowering the bar for pilots patrolling the eastern border to take down Russian threats. Another option is to conduct Nato military exercises on the border with Russia, especially in more remote and unguarded parts of the frontier. <\/p>\n
Donald Trump last month said Nato should open fire on Russian aircraft that breach allied territory. <\/p>\n
The US president\u2019s remarks came after a flurry of Russian provocations, including the first direct confrontation between Nato planes and Russian drones<\/a> since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In addition to that encounter in Polish airspace, Russian drones have also veered into Romanian territory and MiG fighter jets crossed into Estonian airspace<\/a>. <\/p>\n Meanwhile dozens of unidentified drones have caused massive disruptions at airports in Belgium, Denmark and Germany, with some officials attributing them to the same hybrid war carried out by Moscow and which includes cyber attacks and sabotage attempts. <\/p>\n Matthew Whittaker, the US ambassador to Nato, said last week that he was \u201cworking every single day\u201d with allies to ensure \u201cwe have better options on the asymmetrical\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009and hybrid war\u201d. He said it was paramount \u201cto make sure that we have enough rungs on the escalation ladder\u201d. <\/p>\n Two of the Nato officials said that one urgent issue was to streamline the rules of engagement along the eastern flank. Some countries require fighter pilots to make visual confirmation of threats before engaging, while others allow them to open fire based on radar data or the perceived danger from the direction or speed of the hostile object.<\/p>\n Nato did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n The talks, which started out in a small group of directly affected states, have now morphed into a broader discussion, two of the officials said, as other allied capitals recognise the wider threat posed by Moscow\u2019s destabilisation campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some capitals are also pushing for a more aggressive Nato stance as a means of deterrence, said one of the officials. Other allies are advising a more conservative response, given the risks of direct confrontation with a nuclear power like Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are active discussions on these issues, how to better and more efficiently respond to Russia,\u201d said one Nato diplomat, who cautioned that the talks were still in an initial phase.<\/p>\n Nato held emergency talks twice last month, prompted by the incidents in Poland and Estonia, and launched Eastern Sentry \u2014 a mission to bolster the air defences of frontline states. <\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n
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