A Reuters reporter on board saw Swiss F/A-18 jets approach the plane, carrying a Russian delegation on Friday to an Asia-Pacific summit, and escort it while it was in Swiss airspace.
"(We) have expressed surprise and asked for explanations from Switzerland," Russia`s embassy in Switzerland tweeted on Saturday.
The Swiss Defense Ministry said two of its F/A-18s had flown alongside the Russian plane for seven minutes over Swiss territory.
It said such checks were conducted around 400 times a year to double-check the identity of planes belonging to foreign governments.
"It`s like police patrols in the street checking a car to make sure it wasn`t stolen," a spokesman said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin flew to the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) on a different aircraft.
Swiss say jets carried out routine check on Russian government plane
20 November 2016
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Switzerland said on Saturday that Swiss fighter jets that flew alongside a Russian government airliner heading to Peru had merely been making routine checks, after Moscow demanded an explanation, AzVision.az reports citing Reuters.
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