MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. A Russian MiG-31 jet was scrambled to intercept a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion maritime patrol plane over the Barents Sea, the Northern Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

Russian radars detected an air target approaching the state border. A MiG-31 fighter from the Northern Fleet’s air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to identify the target, the press office specified.

"The Russian fighter’s crew identified the air target as a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and shadowed it over the Barents Sea," the statement says.

The foreign military plane was not allowed to violate the Russian state border, the press office stressed.

After the foreign military plane turned away from the Russian state border, the MiG-31 fighter safely returned to its home airfield, it said.

"The Russian fighter performed its flight in strict compliance with the international rules of using the airspace," the Northern Fleet’s press office stressed.