Foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja says that the latest violation of Finnish airspace by a Russian military aircraft does not seem to have been an accident. However he declined to speculate further about the incident before full information becomes available.
“Was it something other than the pilot’s own decision; was he acting based on some kind of instructions? We don’t know yet,” says Tuomioja.
Earlier, Defence Minister Carl Haglund said that it was “very difficult to see how this could be a coincidence” and “unacceptable”. Thursday’s incident was the third in less than a week, following two in late May.
‘Serious’ issue of aviation safety
According to Tuomioja – who has served as foreign minister on and off since 2000 – the normal procedure is that the Finnish Border Guard carries out a preliminary investigation before the Russian Embassy is contacted.
“After that, the question is whether there are characteristics that warrant making direct contact on the political level,” he explains.
Tuomioja says that the incursions in recent days have not so far been linked with any security threat beyond the aviation safety aspect.
“From the standpoint of aviation safety, of course all of these kinds of violations are serious questions, and if there are these kinds of characteristics, then aviation authorities will also have to hold discussions on them,” adds Tuomioja.
NATO-dominated military exercise begins Friday
The latest incidents come as tensions rise along Russia’s border with Ukraine and just days before US President Barack Obama’s visit to neighbouring Estonia next week – and a NATO summit in Wales where Finland is to sign a pact on closer ties with the alliance.
On Friday, a military exercise known as Northern Coasts 2014 begins in the Turku area. Fourteen countries are taking part, most of them NATO members. The exercise runs through 12 September, including some 50 ships and aircraft and around 3000 people, according to Finland's Navy Command. A high-ranking military official suggested to Yle that the latest incidents could be a form of response to the exercise.
In an unusual move on Thursday afternoon, the Finnish Air Force released a photo of the plane, which it says was taken in Finnish airspace. Its markings reveal that it was a Border Guard aircraft.