MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/: Russia’s Defense Ministry has rejected Estonia’s claims that a Russian A-50 aircraft intruded into the Baltic republic’s airspace.
"On September 22, the crew of an A-50 plane of the Aerospace Force was performing a scheduled flight from an airfield in the Kaliningrad Region to its permanent base. The flight proceeded along the agreed route with the plane’s transponder turned on. The aircraft’s crew was in contact with Estonian air controllers who did not present any complaints to the Russian crew," the ministry told reporters.
"The flight proceeded in strict compliance with the international airspace rules, without violating the borders of other states, which was confirmed by data recording equipment," the Russian Defense Ministry stressed.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry announced earlier on Thursday that it had delivered a diplomatic note to the Russian ambassador over the alleged violation of the republic’s airspace by a Russian plane. The Foreign Ministry did not specify the nature of the incident and its details.
