Russian Leader’s Bomber Threat Nettles Romania

Romania has demanded that Russia clarify its position after a Russian deputy prime minister said he would return to Romanian airspace – to which he had been denied access - in a bomber plane.

Dmitry Rogozin was turned away when his plane tried to fly to Moscow from Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region.

According to his tweets in English, Rogozin, who oversees Russia's powerful arms industry, was also blocked by Ukrainian interceptor jets as he tried to fly home from the Russian-speaking region, which borders Ukraine.

"Upon US request, Romania has closed its airspace for my plane," he tweeted. “Ukraine doesn’t allow me to pass through again. Next time I'll fly on board TU-160.” The supersonic Soviet-era TU-160 is Russia's largest strategic bomber.

The Romanian foreign ministry on Saturday asked Moscow to clarify whether Rogozin's comments represented “the Russian Federation's official position towards Romania”.

It further said that “the threat of using a Russian strategic bomber plane by a Russian deputy prime minister is a very grave statement under the current regional context.

Romania has angered Russia with its backing for Western sanctions against Russia, imposed for its alleged role in fomenting conflict in Ukraine.

Romania has also not concealed its concern that pro-Russian separatists in eastern and southern Ukraine might link their insurgency to the breakaway Russian-speaking enclave of Transnistria. Moldova once formed part of Romania and Romania supports its territorial integrity, and its claim to Transnistria.