From Iceland — Russian Military Loves Icelandic Airspace

Russian Military Loves Icelandic Airspace

Published March 16, 2010

The Russian air force can’t seem to get enough of Iceland’s skies, it seems, as RÚV reports their military aircraft have buzzed us 62 times in the past four years.
It is reported that two Tupolev jets came uninvited to Iceland and began to circle the country. They changed course and left when a Danish jet – here as a part of NATO exercises – flew off to greet them.
This is the first visit from Russian military aircraft this year, but certainly not the first since the US closed its Naval base in 2006. Iceland has been visited by the Russian air force 62 times since then; about 1.3 times a month.
The activity of the Russian jets is apparently against international law, which would require Russia to let Iceland know beforehand that military jets are on their way over.
Relations between Iceland and Russia are, for the record, friendly, if on the neutral side.

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