30 Nov 2018 13:08

Agreements with Finland, Latvia, Estonia practically stop conflict situations over Baltic Sea - Russian Defense Ministry

MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - Conflict situations involving NATO fighter jets over the Baltic Sea have practically been eliminated thanks to agreements with Finland, Latvia, and Estonia, the head of the Russian National Defense Control Center, Mikhail Mizintsev, said on Friday.

"The implementation of those agreements has reduced the number of conflict situations in the Baltic Sea airspace, including those involving NATO fighter jets, to practically zero and has generally increased the safety of flights in the Baltic region," Mizintsev said at a conference on interagency cooperation.

Turning points for Russian state aircraft traveling between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad have been established and published in national air-navigation documentation in Finland, Latvia, and Estonia with Rosaviatsiya's assistance, he said.

"The automated military and civilian system regulating the use of airspace commissioned in 2018 has increased flight safety in the Moscow zone and provided an effective and fast solution to the tasks handled together with Moscow's automated air-traffic control center," Mizintsev said.