Russian MoD warns US to keep recon planes away from Russia

By Editor On Feb 1, 2018

The US should either stop flying military planes near Russian borders or agree on the rules for such flights, the Russian Defense Ministry recommended after the latest complaint about an intercept by a Russian fighter jet.

The rebuke came on Thursday after the US Navy released additional footage, which it said showed an interception of an EP-3 spy plane by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet over the Black Sea. The two sides disagree on whether the Russian pilot acted recklessly during the Monday encounter.

The Russian Air Force “will continue to provide robust defense of the borders of Russian airspace,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “If the realization of this fact by American pilots causes depression and phobias, we recommend that the American side either exclude flying near Russian borders in the future or return to the negotiations table and agree on a set of rules for such flights.”
The Pentagon has been accusing Russia of flying too close to American warplanes and warships on patrol missions near Russian borders. US defense officials call such actions risky and unprofessional. Their Russian counterparts disagree and say the Russian pilots do not violate any rules when buzzing American military assets deployed far from their homeland.