Bulgarian Foreign Ministry declares another Russian diplomat persona non-grata

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 29 declared another Russian diplomat as persona non grata and asked the law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation to fully assist the Bulgarian authorities in investigating the explosions in Bulgarian arms depots, the destruction of material evidence in a fire and the poisoning of three Bulgarian citizens.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva held an in-depth and serious conversation with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Sofia.

Bulgaria wishes to maintain equal and mutually beneficial relations with Russia and in this regard insists on active and effective assistance from the Russian side in order to clarify the circumstances surrounding the incidents on our territory.

Attention was also paid to some public comments of Russian officials, which the Bulgarian side considers completely inappropriate.

"We are partners and allies in the EU and NATO, but this does not mean that we have owners, as you recently told media. The Bulgarian services work only in persuit of our national interests," Zaharieva told the Russian ambassador.

Bulgaria's top diplomat said the Foreign Ministry reserved the right to retaliate and urged the ambassador to suspend actions incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

This is the latest from a series of expulsions of Russian doplomats from Bulgaria.

In March, Bulgarian Foreign Ministry declares two Russian diplomats Persona Non Grata.

In December, 2020, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry declares a Russian diplomat as persona non-grata.

In September, 2020, Bulgaria declared two Russian diplomats persona non grata