Belgian fighter jets on Friday scrambled to intercept two Russian bombers that flew into NATO airspace over the North Sea, the Dutch defence ministry said.

The Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack" heavy supersonic bombers entered the zone, for which the Netherlands is responsible on the alliance's behalf, without warning the Dutch, it said.

Belgium and the Netherlands take turns to look after air defence in the area for NATO on behalf of the Benelux region, which also includes Luxembourg.

The Belgian F-16s then escorted the Russian aircraft out of the area towards a zone looked after by Britain, where Royal Air Force jets took over monitoring duties.

"It happens from time to time that Russian aircraft enter NATO airspace without identifying themselves," the Dutch defence ministry said in a statement.

Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have been strained in recent years by the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

cvo/dk/ach

Malaysia Airlines

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