File Photo: Russian Su-27 jet fighters and MIG 29 jet fighters fly over Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2016. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department said Monday that a Russian SU-27 engaged in an "unsafe interaction" with a U.S. EP-3 aircraft in the international airspace over the Black Sea earlier on the same day.

The United States noted "with the highest level of concern" the latest incident of "unsafe" Russian military practices, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said.

In the statement, Nauert criticized the Russian side for "flagrantly violating existing agreements and international law" and risking a mid-air collision, saying the incident "is but the latest example of Russian military activities disregarding international norms and agreements."

However, the encounter was first reported by Russia's RIA news agency on Monday, which cited the Russian Defence Ministry as saying that the Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II and prevented it from violating the Russian airspace.

"After the surveillance plane of the U.S. Navy had changed its course to move away from the border, the SU-27 returned to its base," the Defense Ministry said, defending its rights to launch military operations over the neutral waters.

Russia and the United States have exchanged words several times over the last year about mid-air encounters between the two countries' planes, including above the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.