British Royal Air Force (RAF) jets were scrambled after two Russian aircraft were spotted heading towards UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed Thursday.

An MoD spokesman said "Two unidentified aircraft came towards British airspace. They turned round before there was an interception and before they entered British airspace." He confirmed the two aircraft involved in last Tuesday's incident had been Russian.

The spokesman added "There was nothing to suggest this was linked to any other issues."

The incident came a day after the British Government announced the expulsion of four Russian diplomats as part of its dispute with Russia over Moscow's refusal to extradite the chief suspect for the murder of dissident former spy, Alexander Litvinenko.

Güncelleme Tarihi: 19 Temmuz 2007, 16:54