Russia tells West: Any aggression will be met with 'decisive response'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the West on Saturday that any aggression against Moscow would face a “decisive response,” warning against attempts to down aircraft in Russian airspace and accusing Germany of militaristic rhetoric.

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As Russia’s war rages in Ukraine, tensions have mounted along NATO’s eastern flank in recent weeks as Estonia said Moscow sent three fighter jets into its airspace and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) warplanes shot down Russian drones over Poland.

“Any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response. There should be no doubt about this among those in NATO and the EU (European Union) who... are telling their voters that war with Russia is inevitable,” he told the United Nations General Assembly.

The spate of airspace incursions linked to Russia has unnerved countries in eastern Europe where Russia is seen as the biggest threat since the end of the Cold War. Hopes have dimmed of any imminent end to Moscow's war in Ukraine.

US President Donald J. Trump said this week that he endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian jets that violate NATO airspace, part of a rhetorical shift that saw him mock Russia’s military performance in Ukraine and call it a paper tiger.