Kremlin won’t discuss reported threat to shoot down Russian military planes that violate European airspace

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Friday it did not want to talk about a Bloomberg report that European diplomats had privately warned Moscow that NATO would be ready to shoot down any Russian aircraft violating European airspace.

Bloomberg reported, citing officials familiar with the exchange, that British, French and German envoys had delivered the warning at a meeting in Moscow.

Asked how Russia would respond if NATO shot down a Russian plane, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “You know, I don’t even want to talk about this; it’s a very irresponsible statement.”

He added: “It’s very irresponsible because accusations against Russia that its military aircraft violated someone’s airspace and intruded into someone’s skies are groundless. No convincing evidence has been presented.