The head of the Pentagon said that the United States will continue to fly where international law allows

So he commented on the incident with the American drone MQ-9, which sank in the Black Sea.

"The United States will continue to fly and operate where international law allows. Russia must carry out the flights of its military aircraft safely and professionally, "TASS quoted Austin as saying.

On March 14, the European Command of the US Armed Forces announced that the Russian Su-27 hit the propeller of the American MQ-9 drone over the Black Sea, after which the drone fell into international waters.

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian fighters did not use on-board weapons and did not come into contact with a US drone over the Black Sea.

The ministry said that as a result of sharp maneuvering, the US drone went into uncontrolled flight with a loss of altitude and collided with the water surface.

At the same time, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, noted that the United States is actively conducting reconnaissance in the Black Sea area using various technologies.