OTTAWA, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Canadian fighter jets intercepted aRussian bomber near its airspace in the Arctic three days before U.S. President Barack Obama visited Ottawa last week, officials said Friday.

    Defense Minister Peter MacKay said the bomber never entered Canadian airspace.

    "Canadian pilots sent a strong signal they should back off and stay out of our airspace," MacKay said at a press conference with the chief of the defense staff and the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

    The CF-18s took off from their base in Alberta on Feb.16 after NORAD detected the bomber headed toward Canadian airspace, the officials said.

    The incident was sensitive as it happened as Canada was preparing to host Obama on his first international trip after weeks of preparation that included some of the tightest security ever. Airspace over Canada's capital was closed to all planes but Obama's own Air Force One during the president's visit, MacKay said.

    MacKay said he was not accusing Russia of deliberately timing the flight to coincide with the visit, but it was a "strong coincidence."

    "It was a strong coincidence which we met with ... CF-18 fighter planes and world-class pilots that know their business," he said.

    He also said Canada has recently seen "increased activity" of this kind.

    Russian aircraft regularly probed into North American airspace during the Cold War. Such flights resumed in recent years as Russia pushed its claim on the Arctic and its oil wealth, according to Canadian media reports.

    Last summer, then Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson said recent actions of Russia were of "great concern" to the government.