Moscow: Russia I threatened to close my embassy on Friday Bulgaria and close the mission of the EU country Moscow As tensions mount over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and espionage concerns.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirillo this week on Friday Said his country would expel 70 Russian diplomatic staff, the largest number ordered at once from the Balkan nation.
Russia’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, said on Friday that she would petition the Russian government to close the mission. Sofia,
“Unfortunately, our appeal to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has been ignored,” she said in a statement issued by the embassy.
She said she planned to “immediately” ask the Russian leadership to “close the Russian embassy in Bulgaria, which would essentially shut down the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Moscow”.
He said Petkov’s government would be responsible for the “serious consequences of this move”.
Petkov said Russian diplomats “acted against our interests.”
Several European countries have expelled Russian diplomats after Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine on February 24, Russia has responded in kind.
Bulgaria expects Russia to temporarily close its consulate in northern Bulgaria, while Sofia will temporarily close its consulate in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Bulgaria had already expelled 10 Russian diplomats in March over Moscow’s attack in Ukraine.
The European Union and NATO members – once staunch allies of the Soviet Union under communism – still have close cultural, historical and economic ties with Russia.
But a series of espionage scandals since 2019 have soured relations between the two countries and expelled some 20 diplomats and a technical assistant.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirillo this week on Friday Said his country would expel 70 Russian diplomatic staff, the largest number ordered at once from the Balkan nation.
Russia’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, said on Friday that she would petition the Russian government to close the mission. Sofia,
“Unfortunately, our appeal to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has been ignored,” she said in a statement issued by the embassy.
She said she planned to “immediately” ask the Russian leadership to “close the Russian embassy in Bulgaria, which would essentially shut down the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Moscow”.
He said Petkov’s government would be responsible for the “serious consequences of this move”.
Petkov said Russian diplomats “acted against our interests.”
Several European countries have expelled Russian diplomats after Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine on February 24, Russia has responded in kind.
Bulgaria expects Russia to temporarily close its consulate in northern Bulgaria, while Sofia will temporarily close its consulate in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Bulgaria had already expelled 10 Russian diplomats in March over Moscow’s attack in Ukraine.
The European Union and NATO members – once staunch allies of the Soviet Union under communism – still have close cultural, historical and economic ties with Russia.
But a series of espionage scandals since 2019 have soured relations between the two countries and expelled some 20 diplomats and a technical assistant.