Russia denies violating Japanese airspace
Saturday, February 09, 2008 17:42 [IST]

Moscow: Russia today strongly denied Japanese claims of violating airspace by its strategic nuclear bombers and said its aircraft were acting within the international rules and did not violate the airspace of any country.

According to reports, Japan had to scramble 24 fighters and AWACS plane to intercept Russian Tu-95MS (NATO codename Bear) strategic nuclear bombers, which allegedly entered for three minutes into its airspace early on Saturday. A Russian Air Force spokesman admitted that four Tu-95MS strategic bombers were on a planned mission lasting over 10 hours but said the aircrafts were strictly acting within the international rules and did not violate the airspace of any country.

"In the course of long mission, which included air patrolling over the Pacific Ocean and other designated tasks, flights of four missile carrier aircraft were carried out in the strict compliance of the international air traffic rules over the neutral waters, without violating airspace of other countries," Russian Air Force spokesman Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky declared.

According to him, throughout their long flight the Russian strategic bombers were escorted by the Japanese F-15 and Nimitz aircraft carrier based US F-18 fighters. Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last had ordered the resumption of global patrolling of the vital sea routes by the long-range strategic nuclear bombers, interrupted after the end of the Cold War and Soviet collapse in 1991.