US 'spy plane' intercepted near Russian border

Moscow: A Russian Su-27 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept a US Boeing P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft approaching the countrys border, the Defence Ministry said on Friday.

"A Su-27 fighter jet of the Air Force on duty in the Southern Military District was scrambled to intercept a target," TASS news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.

The Russian fighter jet's crew "approached an aerial target at a safe distance, identifying it as a US reconnaissance plane P-8A Poseidon, which immediately changed the flight direction away from Russia's state border", it added.

Russia's Su-27 observed international rules of using the airspace and after fulfilling the goal it returned to its airfield.

Last month, Russia's Su-27 fighter jets were scrambled to intercept US strategic bombers, which approached Russia's state border from the Black Sea and the Baltic Seas.