The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday denied that three military aircraft had violated Estonian airspace, after NATO jets intercepted three Russian planes on Friday.
“On Friday, September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets made a scheduled flight from Karelia to an airport in the Kaliningrad region,” the Russian enclave sandwiched between Lithuania and Poland, the ministry said on Telegram.
“The flight was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace, without violating the borders of other states, which was confirmed by objective means of control,” the Russian ministry added.
During that flight, the Russian planes did not deviate from the agreed air route and did not violate Estonian airspace, the ministry added.
It specified that the planes flew over “neutral waters of the Baltic Sea at a distance of more than three kilometers from Vaindloo Island” in the Gulf of Finland.
The Baltic country reported three Russian planes violating its airspace on Friday and said it would ask NATO, of which it is a member, to activate Article 4 of the alliance’s founding treaty, which provides for consultations between allies in the event of a threat to one of them.
EU leaders will discuss a “collective response” to Russia’s repeated violations of its airspace at a meeting on October 1st.
The incident comes at a time of high tensions between Russia and NATO countries. Last week, around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, three of which were shot down by Polish aircraft and a Dutch F-35, a first for NATO since its founding in 1949. A few days later, Romania condemned the violation of its airspace after the Russian drone overflight.
