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Russia rejects criticism of fly-by near US Navy destroyer | Russia rejects criticism of fly-by near US Navy destroyer |
(about 7 hours later) | |
MOSCOW — Russia’s defense ministry has rejected complaints by U.S. officials who said Russian attack planes buzzed dangerously close to a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Baltic Sea this week. | |
The U.S. European command says the Russian planes buzzed a U.S. ship multiple times Monday and Tuesday in what the U.S. officials described as an unsafe and unprofessional manner. | |
Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian defense ministry, said Thursday that the pilots of Russian Su-24 jets saw the ship and turned back “while using all measures of precaution.” Konashenkov said he was baffled by what he described as the “distressed reaction of our American counterparts.” | |
The U.S. European Command statement on Wednesday said officials are using diplomatic channels to address the matter. | |
“It may have been in international waters and therefore may not be any violation of international law, but it is still irresponsible behavior,” said NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow, a former US ambassador to Russia. | |
“It illustrates that Russia is contributing to tensions,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of a security conference in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. | |
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |