MOSCOW, July 27. /TASS/. A US P-8A Poseidon surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet over the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry’s National Defense Management Center said on Monday.

"On July 27, 2020, Russian airspace control means spotted an aerial target approaching the Russian state border over the Black Sea neutral waters. A Su-27 fighter jet of the Southern Military District’s air defense forces was scrambled to intercept the target," it said, adding that the fighter jet returned to the base after the US plane had made an U-turn off the Russian border.

"The Su-27 plane’s flight was performed in strict compliance with international rules of the use of airspace. The Russian border was not violated," the center stressed.

It was not the first such incident over the past week. Thus, a Russian Su-27 fighter jet escorted a US P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane over the Black Sea’s neutral waters on July 24. The day before, the National Defense Management Center reported a similar incident over the Black Sea.