A Russian fighter jet buzzed a US Navy spy plane over the Baltic Sea, ramping up tensions between the two nuclear powers who are on opposite sides in the Syrian civil war.

The Russian Su-27 jet performed a “safe” but “unprofessional” intercept of a US Navy P-8 surveillance plane while flying in international airspace, Fox News reported, citing sources.

The Russian jet came within about 20 feet of the Navy aircraft, but the American pilots told their superiors that they never felt threatened or unsafe.

It’s the first confrontation between Russian and American military aircraft since January, when a Russian fighter jet buzzed a Navy EP-3 spy plane over the Black Sea.

Tensions with Russia, which supports the brutal regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, ratcheted up over the weekend, when the country’s foreign minister claimed that the US, which supports rebel groups fighting the regime, was trying to divide Syria.

During a meeting with his counterparts from Iran and Turkey, Sergey Lavrov said the recent US-led missile strikes on Syria “seriously aggravated the situation.”

Lavrov added that statements about supporting the territorial integrity of Syria “are only words that, apparently, cover plans for reformatting the Middle East and plans for dividing Syria into parts.”

He met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Russia, Iran and Turkey are the guarantor states in the so-called “Astana process” aimed at ending the violence in Syria.

International aid groups have repeatedly accused the Syrian government, which is closely allied with Russia and Iran, of preventing the delivery of aid to besieged, rebel-held areas.

Lavrov also reiterated Russia’s contention that the alleged chemical weapons attack on the town of Douma earlier this month was an “artificial pretext” for the missile strikes by the US, Britain and France.

With AP