In an attempt to avoid a direct confrontation between Russia and Western countries, warnings of a military confrontation have risen after the interception of two British and German military fighter jets after they entered the Estonian domain of NATO. In what context do the messages of escalation between the two sides come from?
In the meantime, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the drone incident – referring to the downing of a US drone by Russian forces over the Black Sea – was reckless and unsafe and must be investigated, in return Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that any incidents that could develop into a confrontation between two nuclear states are a risk and the Americans cannot fail to realize it.
In turn, the Russian ambassador to Washington said that the US drones collect intelligence data used by Kiev to strike Russian forces and territory, stressing that his country does not want any confrontation with the United States.
In this regard, political analyst and international affairs expert Viktor Litovkin said – in his interview with the program "Beyond the News" (2023/3/15) – that the escalation of the conflict between America and Russia may lead to a nuclear confrontation, but America does not aspire to that, and it does not want a direct war with Russia, because it has nuclear missiles, and the end of the conflict will not be in the interest of America or Russia, so they will try not to make things reach this stage.
This came against the backdrop of the interception of two British and German military fighter jets after they entered NATO Estonian airspace. The incident comes shortly after the Pentagon announced the loss of a U.S. drone after a Russian fighter jet collided with it over the Black Sea. Washington and Moscow offered different versions of what happened, amid warnings of the dangers of direct friction between Russia and the West.
Calculation error
At the American level, a member of the US Council on Foreign Relations Elles B. Caggins considered that America has made clear - through the statements of political officials - that it condemns the unsafe way of flight of Russian pilots, which resulted from the crash of the Russian plane, which is not an escalation by America and NATO, but it is important for leaders in Moscow and Washington to communicate diplomatically to avoid any miscalculation and enter into a direct clash.
He also explained that America will continue to help Ukraine to confront Russia, considering that the reason for Washington's intervention in this conflict is Moscow's lack of respect for the sovereignty of the territories of other countries, which made him expect that America will continue to collect intelligence through various methods so that Ukrainian forces can obtain accurate military information.
On the military side, military expert and strategist Elias Hanna said that the incident of the march moved the level of contact between America and Russia to direct friction, which moves the conflict between them to a new stage, considering that this does not necessarily mean entering into a comprehensive war between them, but the incident will draw new rules of engagement between the two sides.
He added that espionage between great powers is normal as long as it does not cross red lines, explaining that the plane is able to photograph Crimea in detail, which is a no-go zone for Russian President Vladimir Putin because it represents the crown jewel in Russia's project on Ukraine.