Russian Defense Ministry Denies Estonian Statement About Su-34 Illegal Air Border Crossing

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2019) The Russian Defense Ministry has denied Estonia's claim about the illegal border crossing by Russian aircraft, stressing that the jet had flown above the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea.

Earlier, Estonia's General Staff said a Su-34 fighter of the Russian Aerospace Forces had violated the air border of the Baltic republic. Tallinn says that the jet remained in the Estonian airspace for less than a minute with the switched off transponder. According to the General Staff, the jet failed to present a flight plan and establish a radio contact with the Estonian traffic controller services.

"On September 23, the Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft made a scheduled flight to the Kaliningrad region over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. The flight was passing along a preliminarily agreed route. During the flight, the Russian aircraft's crew was constantly in contact, including with Estonian air traffic controllers," the ministry said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has also expressed surprise at the accusations, voiced by the Estonian General Staff.

"No complaints were made about the flight of the Russian aircraft. The statements by the Estonian side a day later that a Russian plane allegedly violated Estonian airspace are a belated attempt to attract ungrounded attention and are perplexing," it said.

Russian strategic and long-range aircraft regularly carry out flights over the Arctic region, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly said that all flights of Russian military aircraft are carried out in full accordance with international law, and the rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters.