Finland suspects Russian aircraft violated airspace

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland suspects a Russian aircraft entered its airspace on Saturday afternoon without permission, the country's defense ministry said. It said a state aircraft, a term which refers to plane used in military, customs and police services, briefly entered the airspace over the Gulf of Finland. The border guard was examining data on the possible violations, the ministry added, and gave no further detail. Finland shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia and maintains generally cordial relations with its former ruler, but its defense forces have reportedly stepped up military surveillance due to the Ukraine crisis. (Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)