MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane over the Barents Sea, Russia’s National Defense Operations Center reported on Monday.

Russian airspace control capabilities spotted a target approaching the state border over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea. A MiG-31 fighter of the Northern Fleet’s air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to identify it, the Center said.

"The Russian fighter’s crew identified the aerial target as a Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and shadowed it over the Barents Sea. No violations of the state border of the Russian Federation were allowed," the statement reads.

The Russian fighter jet safely returned to its home airbase after the Norwegian Air Force P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane made a U-turn from Russia’s state border, the Center reported.

"The Russian fighter’s flight proceeded in strict compliance with international airspace usage requirements over neutral waters without crossing air routes or flying dangerously close to foreign aircraft," it said.