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The Romanian air forces have conducted an air police mission to escort four Russian aircraft that flew, on Tuesday, over the Black Sea, close to the NATO airspace.
"Yesterday [Tuesday - ed.n.] there was an air police mission conducted by the Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish forces, as four Russian aircraft had a flight path near the NATO airspace. They never entered the NATO airspace, the Russian forces were at all times in the international air space," said, on Wednesday, for AGERPRES, the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence, Constantin Spinu.
He explained that the Russian aircraft came over the Black Sea, entered the area in which countries have a right to ask airships to identify themselves, and the air police mission was done under the NATO command.
"The people there decide, depending on the flight path, which of the aircraft on the air police mission may take to air. Firstly the Romanian forces received the mission - they flew two MiG-21, they closed in and escorted the Russian aircraft on the flight path until they exited our area of competence. They were then taken over by two Bulgarian aircraft, two MiG-29, after which, they exited the area of patrol competence of Bulgaria, they were taken over by two Turkish F-16, and after they exited the patrol area of the Turkish Air Forces, the mission ended," Spinu also said.
According to the Facebook page of the NATO Allied Air Command, the NATO air police aircraft from Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey were scrambled due to Russian air activity close to NATO air space. The first two MiG-21 aircraft of the Romanian Armed Forces scrambled to escort two Russian Tu-22 bombers, escorted by two fighters Su-27.
