Moscow and Washington have traded verbal blows over the interception of a United States surveillance aircraft by a Russian fighter over the Baltic Sea, which the latter described as "reckless, unsafe, and unprofessional".
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| Russia and US Trade Blows Over Baltic Interception. |
The incident, which took place on 7 April, saw a US Air Force (USAF) Boeing RC-135 intercepted by a Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 'Flanker' fighter in international airspace. According to the Pentagon, the Russian jet flew within about 7 m of its aircraft in a fashion that, it said, endangered the lives of the crew.
Following the incident, the US government formally protested to the Kremlin via "the appropriate diplomatic and official channels", the Pentagon told US media.
For its part, Russia claimed that the US surveillance aircraft was flying towards its airspace with its transponder switched off.
Major-General Igor Konashenkov from the Russian defence ministry said that the Su-27 scrambled to intercept the unknown aircraft and flew around it several times to ascertain visually its type and nationality.
"I want to emphasise that the RC-135 was moving towards the Russian border with its transponder switched off … As to the professional qualities of our pilots, this is something for the Russian military command to assess," Gen Konashenkov told Russian media.
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