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Finland Accuses Russia of Violating Its Airspace

by VOA News

   Finland and the U.S. signed an agreement Friday to strengthen their
   military collaboration, in the wake of accusations that Russian fighter
   jets violated Finnish airspace the day before.

   Russia's defense ministry quickly denied the accusations, saying their
   Su-27 military planes flew "in strict compliance with the international
   regulations."

   Finland has accused Russia of similar airspace violations multiple
   times since Russia's annexation of Crimea began in 2014.

   The non-legally binding agreement between Washington and Helsinki seeks
   to deepen ties between the countries through information exchange and
   joint research in areas such as cyberdefense among other things.

   The U.S. has expressed concern over what it sees as aggressive behavior
   by Russia on the Baltic Sea, where Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia,
   and other countries have reported airspace violations.

   U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work was in Helsinki Friday
   to sign the agreement with Finnish defense minister Jussi Niinisto.