Nato denies Moscow's claims military jet almost collided with Russian passenger plane

The North Atlantic military alliance and Moscow routinely trade accusations about airspace incursions

Nato has denied claims in Russia that one of the military alliance’s jets came close to colliding with a passenger plane in the far east of the country.

The airliner, travelling from Sakhalin to the Kuril Islands, reportedly had to descend rapidly to avoid a mid-air collision with the unidentified jet after both aircraft were flying at an altitude of 20,000ft.

Russian news agency Interfax quoted a source as saying the unidentified aircraft belonged to the North Atlantic alliance and had emitted Nato radio signals.

A second Russian news agency, RBC, said the passenger aircraft was a turboprop plane, flying with Aurora Airlines, a subsidiary of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot.

However, a Nato official speaking to The Independent denied one of their aircraft was involved.

“There were no aircraft under Nato command in the region in question,” the source said.

Aurora Airlines also issued a statement describing the reports as “complete nonsense which is not even worth commenting on”.

The Russian security source behind the initial claims was quoted as saying: “Controllers spotted the aircraft was approaching on the same altitude and did not respond to requests from the ground.

“It was decided to urgently descend the passenger aircraft in order to avoid a dangerous approach or even a collision in the air."

The source went on to claim that Russian air traffic controllers attempted to make contact with the jet after the incident but did not receive a response.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

Nato and Russia routinely trade accusations about airspace incursions at a time of heightened East-West tensions.

Russian aircraft flying near the Baltics were intercepted by Nato 110 times last year, down on the 160 incidents recorded in the previous year and also lower than the intercepts made in 2014.

Moscow's jets also frequently fly close to airspace belonging to the UK and its European allies.

In October two Russian ‘Blackjack’ bombers were intercepted as they flew across Europe, skirting the airspace of countries from Norway to Spain.

The frequency of incursions and interceptions by Russian jets has increased in recent years.