U.S. Navy says Russian destroyer almost collided with cruiser

TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Friday a Russian destroyer almost collided with one of its guided missile cruisers in the Philippine Sea in an incident it denounced as "unsafe and unprofessional".

"While operating in the Philippine Sea, a Russian Destroyer Udaloy I DD 572 made an unsafe manoeuvre against USS Chancellorsville," U.S. Seventh Fleet spokesman Commander Clayton Doss said.

He described a Russian assertion that the U.S. ship had acted dangerously as "propaganda". The Russian destroyer came to within 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 metres) of the Chancellorsville, he said.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Robert Birsel)