Russian bomber approached Canada before Obama visit

Canadian fighters scrambled to intercept an approaching Russian bomber less than 24 hours before US President Barack Obama's visit to Ottawa last week, Canadian Defence Minister Peter MacKay said yesterday.

The long-range Bear bomber did not enter Canada's Arctic airspace but the two Canadian CF-18 fighters had to order the plane to "back off", Mr MacKay told a news conference.

President Obama spent a few hours in the Canadian capital on February 19 on his first foreign trip since becoming President.

"I'm not going to stand here and accuse the Russians of having deliberately done this during the presidential visit but it was a strong coincidence, which we met with the presence, as we always do, of F-18 fighter planes... and sent a strong signal that they should back off and stay out of our air space," Mr MacKay said. He also said Russia had stepped up its bomber flights towards the Canadian Arctic in the last few years, reviving a practice that was common during the Cold War.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was very concerned by the incident.

"I have expressed at various times the deep concern our government has with the increasingly aggressive Russian actions around the globe and into our airspace," he told a news conference in the western province of Saskatchewan.

"We will defend our airspace... we will respond every time the Russians make any kind of intrusion on the sovereignty of Canada," he said.

Mr MacKay did not say exactly when the incident occurred or how close the bomber came to Canadian airspace.

"It's not a game. It's not a game at all. These aircraft approaching Canadian or US airspace are viewed very seriously," he said.

Canada's minority Conservative government has promised to spend billions of dollars boosting Canada's presence in the Arctic, which scientists believe has vast reserves of oil and natural gas.

"Our intention is very much to demonstrate our sovereignty, our capability to protect our territory, our airspace, our water (and) our people in the Arctic and that includes our resources," Mr MacKay said.

Five countries with an Arctic coastline - Russia, the United States, Canada, Norway, and Denmark through its control of Greenland - have competing claims to the region. Russia said this week it would respond to any moves to militarise the Arctic.

Ottawa - which plans to build a deep water port in the region - has stepped up sovereignty patrols in the Arctic and last August it said it would toughen reporting requirements for ships entering its waters in the Far North.