LONDON, August 25. /TASS/. All actions of Russia’s armed forces, including air patrolling missions above the Black Sea are conducted in line with the international law and pose no threat to the United Kingdom and its allies, a spokesperson for the Russian embassy in London said in a statement on Saturday.
"Russian armed forces strictly comply with international law and pose no threat to Britain," the official said, commenting on a statement by the British Ministry of Defence that on 23 August Royal Air Force fighter jets stationed in Romania "interrupted" a "provocative" Russian aircraft over the Black Sea.
"One might understand why Royal Navy escorts Russian military ships in the English Channel, in the vicinity of the British coastline, even if this there is no need for the UK to publicize it," the embassy spokesperson continued. "But what kind of threat to Britain or its allies does a Russian patrol aircraft hypothetically pose while conducting flights off Russia's own shore, some 1500 miles away from the UK?"
UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said on Friday that UK actions "send a clear message" of London’s readiness to "respond to any act of aggression" and "support our Eastern European allies to deter any threats faced."
"Williamson and other British politicians, who present such routine Russian activity as "provocative incidents", are themselves behaving in a highly irresponsible manner," the embassy said.
"This latest episode aptly demonstrates how harmful is the very idea of deploying RAF and other NATO forces in Romania, Poland or Baltic states," it continued. "Instead of strengthening anyone's security, such military presence is being used by the British authorities for provocative actions of their own - not only through verbal statements, regrettable as they are, but also in real military terms, which is simply dangerous."
The UK Ministry of Defense said on August 22 that Eurofighter Typhoon jets of the Royal Air Force took off from the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania in response to two suspected Russian Su-30 Flanker aircraft operating near NATO airspace over the Black Sea.
Four Eurofighter Typhoon jets were deployed at the base in Romania in April. They were tasked with patrolling airspace above NATO’s eastern flank.