Although a Russian-made missile struck Poland, a NATO member state, killing two people in the village of Pshevodov on Tuesday, 15 October, Article 5 of NATO treaty is unlikely to go into effect, said Commander of Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) Gen. Leonīds Kalniņš and Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks.
Press-secretary to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lukasz Yasina said in a statement that a «Russian-made missile crashed in Poland near its border with Ukraine on Tuesday and killed at least two people». He added that Russian ambassador to Poland was summoned to provide explanations.
In his interview, Kalniņš mentioned that Both NATO and Poland will definitely condemn Russia for what happened. However, he added that it is unlikely Article 5 will go into effect, and this incident may be resolved through negotiations.
Latvian Minister of Defence Artis Pabriks admitted that there is currently no reason to engage Article 5. However, Article 4 may be put into effect.
At the same time, the minister said what happened was most definitely a crime. «What happened cannot go unnoticed. One of the possibilities is that NATO member states and Poland could agree on additional anti-air defence systems, including some in Ukraine’s territories,» said Pabriks.
«Regardless of whether or not it was an accident, such a situation is unacceptable. The strongest reaction would be using technical means to prevent such situations from repeating in the future and partially guaranteeing Ukraine’s security,» said the minister.
A serious investigation is in order so that we can make appropriate conclusions, stressed Pabriks: «We have to perform a serious investigation to confirm what that missile was and where it came from. The first reaction was that Russia was the one that fired it,» said the minister.
«To ensure the correct political and security response to this incident, we have to wait for confirmation. It seems we may see confirmations soon. Then we may see requests for Article 4, which means consultations about the security situation and Poland’s defence in the region,» explained Pabriks.
He said there are multiple versions as to what happened.
«It may have been a missile fired from Russia’s territory or by Russian aircraft. It may have been a missile fired from Belarus. It may have been a Ukrainian anti-air missile fired to intercept a Russian missile.»
The minister also said the security situation in Latvia has not changed after this incident. «Latvian residents can feel safe. The only thing the Cabinet of Ministers can do right now is assess the situation and listen to reports from the foreign affairs and defence sectors,» he stressed.
Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs, on the other hand, said Russian missile explosions within NATO territories is a very dangerous escalation from the Kremlin’s side.
«Latvia stands in solidarity with our Polish allies and will support any action Poland may consider necessary. Russia must take full responsibility for what happened,» the politician wrote on social media.
Rihards Kols, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the 13th Saeima, wrote on social networks that this incident marks dangerous escalation from Russia and that the country must take responsibility.
«Although in this situation should be approached with a cool head, I would like to stress that Latvia strictly stands with Poland and will support our allies any necessary actions to defend sovereignty,» Kols said, adding that «Russia is a terrorist state».
Article 4 of NATO treaty states countries «will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the parties is threatened».
Latvia requested Article 4 to go into effect following the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Also read: US: Missile that struck Poland probably is not from Russia