During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Poland recorded at least 19 violations of its airspace by Russian drones. Among these machines, four represented a “direct threat” and three were shotaccording to Donald Tusk, the Polish Prime Minister. “An unprecedented attack, not only on the territory of Poland but also on that of NATO and the European Union,” said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Find all the Tangwall Campagin cheat sheets
Despite Russia’s denial that refutes the accusations of “deliberate targeting” as suggested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Warsaw invoked Article 4. A system which triggers consultations between Allies in the event of a threat to one of the members of the Transatlantic Alliance.
Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army in February 2022, this is a first for Poland. The country, which is gradually establishing itself as the leading figure of the Alliance in Europe to strengthen the eastern flank against Moscow, had to activate its air defense to neutralize the aircraft.
What does this article 4 provide for?
According to Article 4 of NATO, “the parties will consult each other whenever, in the opinion of one of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of one of the parties is threatened”. These three criteria are therefore not cumulative. Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty can therefore be invoked in three situations:
- In the event of a threat against the territorial integrity of one of the members of the Alliance
- In the event of a threat to its political independence
- In the event of a threat to the national security of one of the NATO members
If Russia rejects the intentional nature of this massive air attack, certain aircraft had been fired from Belarusian territory where, from September 12 to 16, several Russian-Belarusian military exercises will be held..
This Wednesday, September 10, the 32 ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest political decision-making body, met in Brussels. A meeting planned for a long time but which, given the geopolitical context, should be devoted to the recent Russian attack and the Polish security situation. If no military intervention is provided for by Article 4, the consultations aim to consider and evaluate potential responses. A debate which can give rise to “a joint decision or joint action to be taken on behalf of the Alliance”, the article states.
When has it ever been invoked?
Since the creation of NATO in 1949, this is the 8th time that Article 4 has been invoked. It precedes article 5, known as “collective defense”, which calls on all members to respond in the event of an armed attack against one of its members in Europe or North America.
Since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, this article 4 has been activated four times by Poland and the Eastern countries. On February 24, 2022, the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, eight Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) triggered consultations within the North Atlantic Council.
Turkey, also a member of the Alliance, also invoked Article 4 of the Treaty in 2003 following the war in Iraq, in 2012 (twice), in 2015 and in 2020 regarding the Syrian conflict. Article 5, for its part, has only been activated once during the existence of NATO: during the attacks of September 11, 2001 which triggered, two years later, the American invasion of Iraq.
