Russian planes not fly close to Canadian warship - Russian Defence Ministry

MOSCOW, September 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Air Force Su-24 and An-26 planes on scheduled flights over the Black Sea flew near the Canadian warship Toronto, but did not approach it close, the Russian Defence Ministry’s spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Itar-Tass on Tuesday. Earlier Canadian Defence Minister Robert Nicholson said that a Russian warplane on Sunday, September 7, allegedly flew over the Toronto frigate, which was participating in international exercises in the Black Sea. “The route of Russian Air Force planes crossed the area where the Canadian Navy’s Toronto was, but without approaching the foreign warship,” Konashenkov said. It was a scheduled flight over neutral waters near the Russian state border, he added. "All flights were and are carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of air space over neutral waters," the official said. The Canadian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday, citing Minister Robert Nicholson as saying, that a Russian air force plane flew over the Toronto frigate of Canada’s Royal Navy. It did not threaten its safety, but such actions were provocative and could lead to escalation to tension, Nicholson said. Together with allies, the Canadian Defence Ministry urged Russia to stop such actions, he said. The Canadian Defence Ministry did not say what kind of a plane flew over the ship. The manoeuvres of Ukrainian and NATO warships Sea Breeze 2014 began on September 8. Earlier, the Canadian and Spanish frigates Toronto and Almirante Juan de Borbon, the U.S. destroyer Ross, the French corvette Commandant Birot and the Turkish corvette Buyukada came into the sea. Foreign ships were not planned to call at Ukrainian ports during the exercises. Related news on itar-tass.com