Russian Su-27 fighters took to the air to escort two Mirage 2000 and Rafale tactical fighters over the Black Sea, as well as a C-135 French Air Force refueling plane, the Russian National Defense Management Center reported on Wednesday.
"The Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as two Mirage-2000 and Rafale tactical fighters and a C-135 refueling plane of the French Air Force and escorted them over the Black Sea waters. After the foreign warplanes turned away from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighters safely returned to their home airfield," the report says.
As noted, there was no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation.
The report says that the air targets initially approaching the Russian state border were detected by Russian airspace controls over the neutral waters of the Black Sea. Su-27s from the air defense forces of the Southern Military District on duty were put into the air to identify air targets and prevent violations of the state border.
"The flights of Russian fighters were carried out in strict compliance with international rules of airspace use over neutral waters without crossing air routes and coming dangerously close to aircraft of foreign countries," the Russian National Defense Management Center stresses.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS