(Moscow) Moscow claimed on Sunday that a “catastrophe” was averted after a Russian airliner was forced to change course to avoid a NATO spy plane over the Black Sea.
“A disaster was avoided […], but that does not mean that the United States and NATO can continue to risk lives with impunity, ”Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
According to the Russian Civil Aviation Agency (Rosaviatsia), the incident occurred on Friday morning when the spy plane “descended quickly”, crossing an air route shown on the flight plan of a Aeroflot Airbus which operated between Tel Aviv and Moscow with 142 people on board.
“The direction and altitude of the civilian plane were immediately changed,” Rosaviatsia continued in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday, adding that the crew of the spy device had not responded to messages from the Air traffic controllers.
According to the Russian Interfax news agency, the Russian plane plunged 500 meters to keep clear of the reconnaissance aircraft and its pilots could see it from the cockpit.
Another smaller aircraft, a CL-650 jet that flew to Skopje from Sochi, a Russian resort, also altered its course because of the spy plane, according to Rosaviatsia.
“The increased activity of flights of NATO aircraft near the borders of Russia […] creates a risk of dangerous incidents involving civilian devices, ”Rosaviatsia said, adding that she would“ protest ”through diplomatic channels.
Rosaviatsia did not specify the nationality of the spy device, but Mr.me Zakharova accused in his statement the US Air Force of “representing a risk for civil aviation”.
Russian media also reported that Russian fighter jets were dispatched to the Black Sea region on Friday to escort two US reconnaissance planes.
Neither NATO nor the United States reacted immediately to these accusations.
The incident comes amid growing tensions between Russia and Western countries, which accuse Moscow of massing troops on Ukraine’s borders in preparation for an invasion.
Russia denies any plan in this direction and accuses the NATO countries of increasing “provocations”, notably with recent military exercises near its borders in the Black Sea, an area that Moscow considers its home.