A Russian military plane violated Finland's airspace off the southern coast on Wednesday morning, Finnish officials said, a month after the two countries agreed on steps to limit such violations, according to AP. The Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft's incursion lasted about three minutes, Defense Ministry spokesman Jyrki Iivonen said. «It appears that it was some kind of transporter aircraft,» Iivonen said. «The Frontier Guard will be investigating the incursion, and when that investigation is eventually completed we'll decide if it requires any further steps.» In recent years, there have been several violations by Russian military aircraft _ mostly transporter planes _ off the Finnish coast where the international airspace is narrow. In September, Moscow apologized after one of its planes violated Finnish airspace and said it was unintentional. Similar incursions were observed in August 2005 and April 2006. On Nov. 28, military officials from Russia, Finland and Estonia agreed on ways to avoid airspace violations in the region, including improving the exchange of information on flight plans and sharing technical details. The parties agreed to another round of talks early next year in Moscow, the Finnish Foreign Ministry said. Finland's southern neighbor, Estonia, and the two other Baltic states, Latvia and Lithuania, have complained of violations by Russian military aircraft. In October 2005, a Russian fighter jet crashed in Lithuania. Russian planes, mostly military transporters, frequently fly between the Baltic port enclave of Kaliningrad and bases near the city of St. Petersburg.
