The incident with the US reconnaissance aircraft, due to which a civilian aircraft was forced to change course, needs to be assessed at the international level. Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia on December 5.
"[An assessment] of the situation in which a US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft forced a civilian Aeroflot Airbus A330 to change course, flying over the Black Sea from Tel Aviv to Moscow, should be given by relevant departments. I think this incident should not remain without a separate assessment given at the international level," he said.
Belik noted that the facts of the frequent flights of American aircraft over the Black Sea are within the competence of the Russian Defense Ministry, which "brilliantly copes with the task of protecting the borders of our country."
In addition, the parliamentarian said that "muscle play" in the southern region on the eve of the planned conversation between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden is traditional for the United States. He also expressed the opinion that the upcoming conversation of the presidents cannot do without "overtures" in the form of "defiant" behavior of the American military.
On December 3, a civilian plane flying from Tel Aviv to Moscow was forced to change course over the Black Sea to avoid a dangerous approach with a foreign reconnaissance aircraft. It was noted that the reconnaissance aircraft randomly crossed the established routes of civil aviation and approached the passenger Airbus.
The vertical distance between the planes was less than 20 m. The dispatchers gave the command to the civilian aircraft to descend by 500 m and take a safer echelon. The intruder aircraft did not respond to requests from the ground.
According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, the actions of the US Air Force have created a threat to civil aviation. According to her, if in this case the catastrophe was prevented, it does not mean that the United States and NATO can risk people's lives with impunity.
Military expert Viktor Litovkin noted that the American Air Force behaves impudently and unpredictably and crosses highways, which can lead to tragedy. According to him, the confrontation of reconnaissance aircraft and bomber aircraft is capable of provoking a collision and an air battle.
A day earlier, Russian airspace controls over the neutral waters of the Black Sea detected the RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft of the US Air Force and the CL-600 Artemis reconnaissance and targeting aircraft approaching the border of the Russian Federation. Su-27 and Su-30 fighters escorted American planes.
