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UK denies Moscow claims RAF jet entered Russian airspace

UK Ministry of Defence RC-135W Rivet JointUK Ministry of Defence
A RC-135W Rivet Joint was conducting a "routine operation" over international waters, the UK said

The UK has denied an RAF jet entered Russian airspace in the Arctic Circle, after the Kremlin accused Britain of a "deliberate provocation".

The flight by a RC-135 Rivet Joint was part of "routine operation" on Monday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

A Russian fighter made an "unsafe close pass" of the surveillance aircraft over international waters, it added.

Moscow said it had "been tasked with preventing the violation of Russian Federation airspace".

The MoD denied claims the Royal Air Force (RAF) plane had violated the Russian border in the Arctic Circle, adding that "at no time" did the aircraft enter Russia's airspace.

It said the RC-135, based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, was communicating with Russian civilian air traffic control and its crew operated in a "safe and professional manner" during the flight, which took it over the Norwegian and Barents seas in the Arctic Circle.

The RAF jet later returned safely to its base in the UK after the flight.

Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Four MIG-31 jets flying in formationSefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A Russian MIG-31 conducted an "unsafe close pass" of the RAF reconnaissance jet, the MoD said.

On Monday, Russia said the UK had submitted a flight plan application "to fly along a route including over Russian Federation territory" near Cape Svyatoy Nos.

The Kremlin said it considers "this action to be a deliberate provocation" and its air force has "been tasked with preventing the violation of Russian Federation airspace".

"All the possible consequences of this deliberate provocation will be borne solely by the United Kingdom", a Russian government spokesperson added.

Russia itself has been accused of violating or approaching the airspace of other nations with military aircraft in the past.

In 2015 a Russian Su-24 jet was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighters near the Syrian border after being accused of entering Turkey's airspace.

In February, RAF aircraft were scrambled to intercept four Russian military planes - two bombers and two maritime patrol aircraft - flying to the north of Scotland, although on this occasion no airspace violation occurred.