Denmark Foreign Ministry summons Russian ambassador

Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod summoned Russia's ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin to a meeting with the Foreign Ministry's foreign policy director, according to his tweets.

The meeting came as tensions rose following the alleged incursion into Danish airspace by a Russian Su-27 fighter, near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic, while in hot pursuit of a U.S. Air Force B52 bomber last Friday, wrote NATO's Allied Air Command on its website on Monday.

According to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Friday's incident was the first of this kind of violation for several years.

"Completely unacceptable violation of Denmark's airspace by Russian Su-27 fighter. (I) will raise issue with Russian authorities to avoid repetition," Kofod tweeted, adding "DK(Denmark)will always defend our air space, insist on international law."

The Russian action prompted the immediate launch of Danish Quick Reaction Alert aircraft to counter the violation, near the Danish island of Bornholm, resulting in the lone Russian fighter turning back before the interception, local media reported.

Earlier Tuesday, Minister of Defense Trine Bramsen called it an "unacceptable violation of Danish airspace."

Russian Defense Ministry has denied that the Russian fighter violated the Danish border, saying the fighter's action was to prevent a violation of Russian territory.

"On August 28, 2020, a Su-27 fighter from the air defense duty of the Baltic Fleet was raised to identify and prevent a U.S. Air Force B-52H strategic bomber from violating the Russian state border," TASS cited the ministry as saying.

"The flight of the Russian Su-27 fighter, accompanied by an American bomber, was carried out over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea in strict accordance with international rules..., without violating the borders of other states," the statement added.