Georgian–Abkhazian conflict

For the second time in a week, a Russian fighter jet flew up close to a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane in the Black Sea, a U.S. official told Fox News.

This latest incident occurred about 30 miles from Russia in a northern portion of the Black Sea about 100 miles from Russian-held Crimea.

Russia’s air force scrambled to intercept a U.S. aircraft above the Black Sea, sending a fighter jet that came within 20 feet of its American counterpart.

"We never believed it was the decision of the president to shoot down the plane. We know that outside forces were involved with that decision," said Leonid Reshetnikov, the head of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS).

He was speaking on Oct. 31 at a conference organized by the Ankara Policy Center on the future of Turkish-Russian relations.

Russia rejected April 30 a new claim that one of its jets had intercepted a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Baltic in an "unsafe" manner, and accused Washington of sending "spy-planes" into its airspace.

U.S. authorities said they were "very concerned" after the mid-air standoff April 29, the latest incident fuelling tension between the former Cold War foes.