NATO increasing flights near Russia: Russian commander
Iran Press TV
Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:8AM GMT
NATO is using the current crisis in Ukraine as a pretext to increase its aircraft flights near Russia's western borders, Russian Air Force chief says.
Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev made the remarks in a press conference on Tuesday, saying NATO is increasing its tactical flights of aircraft deployed in Russia's neighboring countries, namely Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania as well as Poland.
The Russian commander added that NATO and the US Air Force have significantly increased the intensity of intelligence operations over the territories of Russia's neighboring Baltic countries.
"Overall number of flights by NATO tactical aircraft in regions bordering Russia and Belarus has more than doubled to exceed 3,000 in 2014 against 2013," said Bondarev.
He said that the NATO flights close to Russian borders "are beyond comparison with flight intensity by Russian long-range aircraft."
Elsewhere in his news briefing, Bondarev spoke of the recent media reports about Russian warplanes' alleged violations of flight rules, saying the fake stories are aimed at distracting attention from NATO's increased activity near Russian borders.
The chief commander was referring to a number of recent media reports about alleged Russian violations of aerial territories, including one in November that claimed a Russian warplane violated Sweden's airspace. The Swedish Armed Forces' press service later rejected the claim, saying the aircraft was French.
Relations between Moscow and the West have been strained over the crisis in Ukraine. The United States along with other Western governments accuse Russia of sending troops into eastern Ukraine in support of the pro-Russia forces there, an allegation denied by the Kremlin.
CAH/HJL/HRB
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