MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia denied on Friday that one of its navy vessels had come dangerously close to a U.S. Navy destroyer in the North Arabian Sea the previous day, Russian news agencies cited a statement by the Russian Ministry of Defence as saying.

The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said on Friday that a Russian ship had “aggressively approached” U.S. destroyer USS Farragut, which had then sounded five short blasts and requested the Russian ship alter course.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said in its statement that the U.S. Navy vessel had crossed the Russian ship’s path, in an action it deemed “unprofessional” and “an intentional violation of international maritime security norms”.