Russian fighter jet escorts British aircraft out of airspace: ministry

Russia’s defence ministry has said British reconnaissance aircraft violated the Russian air border near the Cape Svyatoy Nos, located between the Barents Sea and the White Sea.

A Russian fighter jet forced the British aircraft out of the Russian airspace, the ministry added in a statement.

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 The inviolability of Russia’s borders is a fundamental principle, which should not be tested, a senior Russia lawmaker said on Monday, commenting on the reports about the violation of the Russian border by a British reconnaissance aircraft.

"A reconnaissance aircraft violated Russia’s state border near Cape Svyatoy Nos in the north of Russia. It looks like those who issue such absurd and provocative orders have forgotten how a British destroyer intruded into Russia’s territorial waters to be stopped by our border guards," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma (lower parliament house) and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), told TASS.

"The inviolability of Russian borders is a fundamental principle, which should not be tested. I am convinced that a response to any intrusions will be adequately harsh," he stressed.