MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Moscow has rejected Tokyo’s demarche over an alleged incident involving a Russian aircraft, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"Japan tried to protest to us on the issue through diplomatic channels. Russia rejected the demarche as we have no information confirming that it’s valid," she noted, commenting on a situation where a Russian military aircraft allegedly violated Japanese airspace and was spotted near the island of Hokkaido.

According to Zakharova, Russia pointed out that it was counterproductive on the part of Tokyo to politicize such issues, "which should be discussed via the relevant channels."

The Japanese Defense Ministry claims that on September 23, F-35 fighter jets were scrambled after a Russian Il-38 aircraft had been spotted near Hokkaido. Japan said that the aircraft had entered its airspace for about a minute three times between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. local time (4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. GMT).

The Russian Defense Ministry stated earlier that the country’s military aircraft perform flights in strict compliance with international rules of the use of airspace.