Thursday, November 07, 2013

Russian Tu-160 Bombers Infringe on Colombian Air Space: Lost, Threatening or Annoying?

Colombia is preparing a letter of protest to Russia after two Russian bomber planes twice entered the Andean nation's airspace without authorization when flying between Venezuela and Nicaragua last week, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Tuesday.

Santos said the two planes crossed Colombian airspace on Friday flying from Venezuela to Nicaragua. They re-entered Colombian territory on their return journey but flew out of the zone when intercepted by two of Colombia's Kfir military planes.

"As they are military and government planes, they needed to request permission but didn't. We have simply requested that the Foreign Ministry make the respective notification to the Russian government," Santos told reporters after a government meeting on security issues.

Military sources told Reuters the planes were Russian-made Tupolev Tu-160 bombers flying from the Venezuelan coastal city of Maiquetia to Nicaragua's capital, Managua. The sources said the bombers flew into Colombian airspace over its San Andres y Providencia archipelago in the Caribbean Sea.

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