Latvia rules out NATO article 4 over "stray" drone incidents, citing no threat

Latvia has said it does not see grounds to trigger NATO’s Article 4 consultations following recent incidents involving what it described as “stray” drones, arguing the events do not amount to a direct military threat.

Acting Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said Riga views the cases as isolated and technical in nature rather than evidence of escalation requiring formal alliance-level consultations, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Braže rejected calls to consider Article 4, which allows member states to request consultations if they believe their territorial integrity, political independence or security is under threat.

“There is no basis for this,” she said, adding that the incidents involved “very small numbers” of drones.

According to Braže, the drones in question are Ukrainian aircraft that have been diverted off course due to Russian electronic warfare systems, rather than deliberate incursions into Latvian airspace.

“This is not a military threat,” she said. “We are talking about a very small number of devices — we should be able to deal with this.”

She added that the focus should instead be on strengthening national preparedness and defensive capabilities to address such incidents, rather than escalating the issue within NATO’s consultation framework.

By Aghakazim Guliyev