NATO Confirms Tracking Three Russian Planes Over Baltic Sea
19:12 21.06.2017
NATO confirmed on Wednesday its planes had tracked three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea as they had not not responded to air traffic controllers or provided information about themselves.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – Earlier in the day, a NATO F-16 fighter attempted to get close to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's plane en route to the westernmost Russian city of Kaliningrad over neutral Baltic waters but was chased away by a Russian jet.
"NATO can confirm that three Russian aircraft, including two fighters, were tracked over the Baltic Sea earlier today (21 June 2017). As the aircraft did not identify themselves or respond to air traffic control, NATO fighter jets scrambled to identify them, according to standard procedures. NATO has no information as to who was on board. We assess the Russian pilots' behaviour as safe and professional," a representative of the alliance told reporters.
Russia's Sukhoi Su-27 fighter, one of the aircraft escorting Shoigu's plane, then displayed its weapons, prompting the F-16 to retreat.
On June 6, the Russian Defense Ministry said it scrambled a Su-27 air superiority fighter over the Baltics to to intercept and escort a US B-52 strategic bomber that approached its borders.
On May 12, the ministry said Moscow scrambled a Su-30 fighter plane on May 9 over the Black Sea to intercept a US reconnaissance aircraft.
© Sputnik
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