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Swedish media mistook French warplane that violated Sweden's airspace for Russian

The Swedish newspaper Expressen said an aircraft of the Russian Air Force had entered several kilometers into Sweden’s airspace to turn eastwards when a Jas Grispen fighter was ordered to intercept it

Su-24 warpalnes Yuri Smityuk/TASS

Su-24 warpalnes

© Yuri Smityuk/TASS

STOCKHOLM, November 17. /TASS/. Sweden’s Armed Forces have refuted media reports alleging that a Russian warplane had violated the country’s airspace. The press service of the Swedish Armed Forces said on Monday it was a French aircraft.

The incident took place last Saturday. The Swedish newspaper Expressen, citing unverified information, said an aircraft of the Russian Air Force had entered several kilometers into Sweden’s airspace to turn eastwards when a Jas Grispen fighter was ordered up to intercept it.

The Swedish media seem to be dippy about “Russia’s increasing military presence in the Baltic region.” Last week, the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said Sweden had twice expressed protests over violations of the country’s airspace over the southern part of the Baltic Aland Island on September 17, 2014 by Russian Su-24 warpalnes.

The first note of protests in the format of aide-memoire was handed over by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to Russian Ambassador to Sweden Viktor Tatarintsev on September 19. In a reply aide-memoire, Russia refuted allegations saying that an investigation proved that no Russian planes had entered Sweden’s airspace.

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