(Reuters) - Russian fighter jets did not violate Estonian airspace and flew over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea in proceeding from northwest Russia to the Russian Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad, the Russian Defence Ministry said early on Saturday.
The government of NATO member Estonia said three Russian military jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes in an "unprecedentedly brazen" incursion. The incident occurred just over a week after more than 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, some downed by NATO jets.
"The flight was carried out in strict conformity with international rules governing airspace with no violation of the borders of other states as is confirmed by independent checks," the Russian Defence Ministry said of the three MiG-31 fighters in a post on Telegram.
"During the flight, the Russian aircraft did not deviate from the agreed flight path and did not violate Estonian airspace."
The statement said the route taken by the fighters from the northwestern Russian region of Karelia "was over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea at a distance of more than 3 km from the island of Vaindloo," which lies off the Estonian coast.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Leslie Adler)
