MOSCOW, July 23.
/TASS/. Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers did not violate other countries’
borders during their scheduled flight over neutral waters of the Sea of Japan,
the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
"On July 23,
2019, two Tu-95MS strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces were
performing a scheduled flight in the airspace over neutral waters of the Sea of
Japan," the ministry noted.
The Defense Ministry
stressed that the planes did not violate other counties’ borders.
"According to flight data, the Tu-95MS aircraft did not deviate from the
planned route in accordance with international regulations, flying more than 25
km away from Dokdo (Takeshima) islands without violating South Korea’s
airspace," it said.
The ministry said
that two South Korean F-16s approached the Russian bombers near the Liancourt
Rocks and "conducted unprofessional maneuvers, crossing the course of the
Russian aircraft and jeopardizing their safety."
The Russian defense
agency also pointed out that "The South Korean pilots did not establish
communications with the crews of Tu-95MS, fired flares and then the F-16s
conducted another maneuver, retreating away from the Russian planes."
The Russian Defense
Ministry has refuted reports on warning shots fired by South Korea’s F-16
fighter jets at Russia’s Tu-95MS strategic bombers.
"No warning
shots were fired by South Korea’s fighter jets," the Defense Minsitry
said, adding that, "if the Russian pilots felt a security threat, the
response would follow quickly."
The ministry also
emphasized that "it is not the first time that South Korean pilots have
unsuccessfully tried to disrupt the Russian aviation’s maneuvers over the
neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, citing a self-imposed "air defense
identification zone"." However, these zones are not envisioned by the
international rules and, therefore, are not recognized by Russia, which has
been repeatedly communicated to the South Korean side through various
channels."
Flights over Sea of
Japan
Earlier on Tuesday,
the South Korean Yonhap News Agency claimed that a Russian Air Force jet had
twice violated the South Korean airspace near the Liancourt Rocks, situated in
the Sea of Japan and contested by Seoul and Tokyo.
The South Korean air
defense identification zone stretches not only across the country’s airspace,
but is also partly applied to the international airspace. In spite of that, the
South Korean military demands that the intention to enter the zone and the aims
of the flights should be communicated to them ahead of missions. Usually, if it
does not happen, they scramble aviation to intercept the ‘intruders’ even if
the South Korean airspace has not been violated.
Source: ITAR-TASS
23-07-2019
