MOSCOW: Russia announced Monday that it had dispatched a MiG-29 fighter jet to “prevent a violation” of its border by a Norwegian military patrol aircraft over the Barents Sea.
“As the Russian fighter approached, the foreign military plane made a U-turn away from the borders of the Russian Federation,” the Russian defence ministry said.
“There was no violation of the border,” the statement added, identifying the Norwegian aircraft as a P-8A Poseidon patrol plane.
The defence ministry said its flight was carried out in accordance with international rules, “without crossing air routes or making dangerous rapprochement.”
NATO member Norway shares a land border with Russia as well as a maritime border in the Barents Sea.
Incidents involving Russian and Western aircraft have multiplied over the recent months against the backdrop of Russia’s large-scale military intervention in Ukraine.
Separately, the Russian defence ministry said some of its strategic bombers carried out scheduled flights over neutral waters of the Baltic and northern seas, including the Barents Sea.
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