Russia denies airspace violation during MiG-31 transfer flight

Moscow, Sep 20 (IANS) Russia said that a flight by three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets from Karelia to the Kaliningrad region adhered to international aviation rules and did not cross into the airspace of other countries.

In a statement published on its Telegram channel on Saturday, the Defence Ministry said that the redeployment flight on Friday was scheduled in advance and carried out under objective monitoring systems, which confirmed that no borders were violated, Xinhua news agency reported.

The statement came after Estonia's Foreign Ministry summoned Russia's charge d'affaires on Friday to protest over what it claimed was an airspace violation by Russian aircraft.

Earlier in the day, Estonia had summoned Russia's charge d'affaires to protest what it said was an "airspace violation" by three Russian fighter jets, an allegation Moscow flatly denied.

The Estonian Foreign Ministry had said in a statement that "the incursion took place over the Gulf of Finland, where three Russian Federation MIG-31 fighter aircraft entered Estonian airspace without permission and remained there for a total of 12 minutes."

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal had said Tallinn would seek NATO consultations under Article 4 in response to what she called Russia's provocations. Article 4 allows any NATO member to call for discussions when it perceives a threat to its territorial integrity or security.

Russia's Defence Ministry had rejected the accusation, saying the aircraft were on a planned flight that "was carried out in strict compliance with international airspace regulations and did not violate the borders of other states, as confirmed by objective monitoring."

Tensions have escalated between the Nato military alliance and Russia in the last week, after Poland and Romania - both Nato members - said Russian drones breached their airspace.

Nato confirmed its jets intercepted the Russian aircraft.

“Earlier today, Russian jets violated Estonian airspace. Nato responded immediately and intercepted the Russian aircraft. This is yet another example of reckless Russian behaviour and Nato's ability to respond,” a spokesperson said on X.

The alliance patrols the skies over Estonia and other Baltic states under its “Baltic Sentry” mission.

--IANS

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