OTTAWA -- Canada will not tolerate Russian intrusions into Canadian airspace, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday after it was disclosed that two Russian bombers were intercepted just outside the Canadian Arctic shortly before U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Ottawa this month.

“I have expressed at various times the deep concern our government has with increasingly aggressive Russian actions around the globe and Russian intrusions into our airspace,” the Prime Minister said at a news conference in Saskatoon. “This government has responded every time the Russians have done that. We will continue to respond; we will defend our airspace.”

Earlier yesterday, Defence Minister Peter MacKay disclosed that two CF-18 fighter jets met at least one Russian bomber within 24 hours of the U.S. President’s trip to Ottawa on Feb. 19 just outside of Canada’s Arctic airspace.

The incident set off a round of bitter sniping between Moscow and Ottawa that was a throwback to the Cold War era.

Initially there was confusion over the number of Russian planes involved — it turned out to be two, not one — while Russian sources mocked Canada’s assertion that they were given no notice of the flights.

With Mr. Obama poised to leave U.S. soil for the first time as president on Feb. 19, the joint Canada-U.S. aerospace command, NORAD, picked up the approaching aircraft.

Canadian jets were scrambled and sent “very clear signals” to the Russian aircraft to “turn tail and head back to its own airspace,” which were followed without incident, Mr. MacKay said.

Later yesterday, Canadian defence and NORAD officials confirmed a second Russian plane was involved in the incident, and identified the two aircraft as Tupolev Tu-95 propeller driven bombers, a type of aircraft known as the “Bear.”

Vladimir Drik, an aide to the Russian chief of staff, speaking to RIA Novosti news agency confirmed the Feb. 18 flight, but indicated a different model of Tupolev carried out the mission. “The Tupolev-160 fulfilled all its air patrol tasks. It was a planned flight.”

He said the crew acted solely within the limits of international air agreements and did not violate Canadian airspace.

At the time, Canada was preparing to host Mr. Obama on his first international trip after weeks of preparation that included tight security.

Indeed, the airspace over Canada’s capital was temporarily closed to all planes but Mr. Obama’s own Air Force One, which arrived and then departed after the seven-hour visit.

“It’s not a game,” said Mr. MacKay. “I’ve personally asked both the Russian ambassador and my counterpart that we are given a heads-up when this type of air traffic is to occur. And to date we have not received that kind of notice that would be preferable.”

The Russian embassy in Ottawa had no comment yesterday. A Russian military source reportedly scoffed at Canada’s claims.

“So the statements from Canada’s defence ministry are perplexing to say the least and cannot be called anything other than a farce,” Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying, according to Reuters.