The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied any unusual incidents or encounters with a US destroyer after the Pentagon accused Moscow of “unsafe and unprofessional” piloting in the vicinity of the USS Porter “patrolling” the Black Sea.
On Tuesday, Captain Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for the US European Command, said that on three separate occasions, Russian military jets came close to the USS Porter destroyer in the Black Sea on February 10.
One of the incidents, the US official said, involved two supersonic Su-24 attack jets. The second one also involved a separate Su-24, while the third flyby was apparently made by an IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft.
US Defense Department spokesperson Michelle Baldanza said the incidents were deemed “unsafe and unprofessional,” pointing out that the Russian aircraft did not have their transponders on.
“Several incidents by multiple Russian aircraft in the Black Sea near the destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) on Feb. 10 were assessed by the ship’s commanding officer as unsafe and unprofessional,” Baldanza told Sputnik on Tuesday. “Such incidents are concerning because they can result in accident or miscalculation.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense, on Tuesday, denied the US accusations. “There were no incidents related to a flyby of Russian military aircraft near the USS Porter destroyer in the Black Sea on February 10,” Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.
“All of our flights were conducted and are being conducted over the neutral waters of the Black Sea in accordance with international rules and safety requirements,” the general added.
Konashenkov was surprised to hear the US military were astonished to see Russian fighters so close to Russian borders.
“If the US destroyer, as the Pentagon official claims, conducted a ‘regular’ patrol mission in the vicinity of Russia, tens of thousands miles away from their own shores, it is strange to be surprised about the no less regular flights of our aircraft over the Black Sea,” said the representative of the Ministry of Defense.
Source: RT
