Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Bulgaria’s announcement of the diplomat of the Russian embassy and an employee of the trade mission as “personae gratae” to be an unfriendly and provocative step.
Russia does not rule out retaliatory measures. In Sofia, diplomats are suspected of espionage – they allegedly collected information about the elections and the energy sector.
“We regard the official Sofia’s move as openly unfriendly and provocative, contrary to the constructive and traditionally mutually respectful character of Russian-Bulgarian relations. We reserve the right to take retaliatory measures”, – the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. According to the agency, Bulgaria did not submit any “intelligible evidence” for the expulsion of diplomats.