MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet intercepted a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft over the Barents Sea, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Thursday.

"On August 31, 2023, Russian airspace control capabilities spotted an aerial target over the Barents Sea approaching the state border of Russia. A MiG-31 fighter of the Northern Fleet’s air defense quick reaction alert forces was scrambled to identify the target and prevent it from violating the Russian state border," the ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian fighter’s crew identified the aerial target as a Norwegian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. As the Russian fighter approached the foreign military plane, the latter made a U-turn from the Russian state border. No violations of the Russian state border were allowed," the statement reads.

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, the ministry specified.