MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian Foreign Minister also stated that the flights of Russian military aircraft over a US destroyer in the Baltic Sea were completely legitimate and took place at a safe distance from the vessel.
"I consider claims that Russia began to conduct dangerous activities near NATO as an unscrupulous attempt to distort the reality."
"On the contrary, it is NATO that expands its infrastructure closer to Russian borders."
Flights of Russian Jets Over US Destroyer in Baltic Sea Completely Legitimate
"Our planes were carrying out completely legitimate training flights in the international airspace. They saw that a US destroyer with powerful armaments was coming towards our military base and decided to check it out. As soon as they saw who it was, which happened at a safe distance, they turned around and continued their flight."
Following the incident, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said that the US military expected Russian senior leaders to discourage the country’s military pilots from conducting dangerous flyovers of US ships because it could lead to a confrontation.
US State Secretary John Kerry, in turn, expressed his strong objections to Lavrov over the incident.
