THE HAGUE, November 13. /TASS/. The Dutch Defense Ministry says two fighter jets of the national air force have intercepted a Russian transport plane in the Baltic countries’ airspace.

According to the Defense Ministry’s statement the incident occurred on Wednesday evening, when a Russian four-engine plane IL (presumably Ilyushin-76 - TASS) en route towards Kaliningrad, strayed into the airspace of Estonia and Lithuania without prior notice.

Two Dutch F-16 jets were ordered into the air from the Polish airbase near the town of Malbork “to escort the Ilyushin out of the Baltic countries’ airspace,” the statement runs.

“The fighter jets were used for interception for the first time since September 3, when they were deployed in Poland,” the Dutch Defense Ministry said.

The Dutch Air Force participates in guarding the air space of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia under NATO liabilities. The decision on their temporary deployment in Poland followed a worsening of relations between Russia and Europe over Ukraine.