After a US drone mishap, Italy issues an escalation warning.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has warned that human error or an aggressive move by one individual could trigger a stand-off between Russia and the West, and urged the West and Russia to exercise caution to avoid a direct clash. On Tuesday, the US accused Russia of downing an MQ-9 Reaper drone, spotted off the coast of Crimea as it conducted a reconnaissance flight. Russia, however, insisted that its fighters had neither come into contact with the American drone nor fired from a weapon. Tajani suggested that, although the US and Russia had each taken tough stances over the incident, they attempted to "not to turn the affair into a casus belli." However, in the current climate, the situation could escalate due to a human error or aggressive action by an individual. To avoid the worst-case scenario, Tajani urged prudence on the part of those engaged on the borders of Europe and NATO. On Wednesday, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow had no high-level contacts with Washington over the drone crash.