Switzerland’s military said one of its fighter jets performed a routine identification check on a Russian plane in Swiss air space yesterday, prompting Moscow to complain the aircraft came “dangerously” close to each other.

Russia’s Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin is an ally of Russian President, Vladmir Putin. Photo: Reuters

Russia initially summoned the French ambassador in Moscow to protest, alleging a French military jet had come into “dangerous proximity” with the Tupolev, whose passengers included the Speaker of its lower house en route to Geneva. Moscow, which had threatened not to use France as a venue for inter­national meetings in retaliation, later apologised for the mistake.

A Swiss Department of Defence spokesman yesterday evening confirmed the fighter was a Swiss F/A 18 jet that had been sent to verify the identity of the Russian plane with diplomatic clearance.

Spokesman Peter Minder said the Swiss jet flew close enough to make visual contact with the Russian pilot, but there was no danger of a collision.

“It’s standard procedure,” Mr Minder said, adding the Swiss military performs such “live missions ... a hundred times a year” to confirm that aircraft entering Switzerland’s air space have appropriate clearance.

“It’s just a matter of identification,” he said.

It’s standard procedure, a matter of identification

Contact with the Russian pilot was made around 08:22 GMT and the plane’s identity was confirmed, Mr Minder said, at which point the Swiss fighter returned to its base. The Russian plane landed in Geneva as planned. France was quick to deny involvement.

“No French army aircraft was involved in the incident with the official Russian aircraft that the Russian Foreign Ministry mentioned,” France’s defence and foreign ministries said in a joint statement. “We regret therefore that the French ambassador to Moscow was summoned on the spot.”

The Russian Speaker, Sergei Naryshkin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin was heading to Geneva for an international meeting of parliamentarians.

Geneva’s airport is very close to Switzerland’s border with France, which may have led to confusion about whose airspace Mr Naryshkin’s aircraft was in and the jet’s nationality.

There has been an uptick in the number of near-miss type incidents involving Nato and Russian military aircraft since the separatist conflict, which the West accuses Russia of stoking, broke out in Ukraine.

Nato member states have accused Russian military jets in particular of flying dangerously close to Western military and civilian aircraft on numerous occasions.