Russian fighter escorts NATO military planes over Baltic Sea

File photo of a Su-27 fighter (Russian Defense Ministry)

The Russian jet escorted the foreign planes until they flew away from the Russian border.

MOSCOW, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A Russian fighter jet was scrambled on Monday to accompany a German and a French military aircraft over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Russian airspace control detected two targets approaching the Russian state border over the Baltic Sea and a Su-27 fighter took off in response, the ministry said in a statement.

After identifying the objects as a P-3C Orion patrol aircraft of the German Navy and an Atlantique-2 anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the French Navy, the Russian crew escorted the foreign planes until they flew away from the Russian border, the statement said.

The escort mission was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters, the statement added.