NATO jet approached plane carrying Russian defense minister, reports say
Source: Washington Post
NATO jet approached plane carrying Russian defense minister, reports say
By Andrew Roth June 21 at 8:26 AM
MOSCOW A NATO F-16 fighter approached and was then warned away from a jet carrying Russias defense minister, Russian media reported Wednesday, the latest in a string of aerial incidents that have marked rising tensions between the West and Russia.
The incident occurred over the Baltic Sea in northeast Europe, according to reporters traveling with the defense minister, Sergey Shoigu, in international airspace crowded with Russian and NATO jets testing one anothers nerve in close sometimes dangerously proximity.
But no incidents yet had involved high-ranking members of the Russian or U.S. government on board.
There was no immediate comment from NATO, which has been conducting military exercises in Eastern Europe, nor was it clear which nation was flying the NATO warplane. The alliances press office responded to phone calls with a press statement concerning NATO intercepts of Russian aircraft last week.
Shoigu landed in Kaliningrad on Wednesday.
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