Russia intercepts Norwegian plane near border

Russia said it had dispatched a MiG-31 fighter jet on Wednesday to prevent a Norwegian military plane from violating its border over the Barents Sea.

The Russian crew identified the Norwegian plane as a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, which turned away from the border when the Russian jet approached, the defence ministry said in a statement.

The incident took place as leaders of NATO – of which Norway is a member – met in Lithuania on the second day of a summit that has been dominated by discussion of the war in Ukraine.

The Russian statement did not say how close the two planes came to each other.

“The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace over neutral waters, without crossing air routes or dangerously approaching an aircraft of a foreign state,” it said.