Robert Besser
05 Jul 2022, 20:15 GMT+10
SOFIA, Bulgaria: Russian diplomats and their families departed Bulgaria over the weekend, amidst heightened tensions between the two eastern European nations.
The Russian diplomats were expelled by Bulgaria.
At the Sofia airport, Filip Voskresenski, a high-ranking Russian diplomat, confirmed that nearly 70 Russian diplomats and staff have been declared "persona non grata" and ordered to leave Bulgaria.
The expulsion of the Russians was announced by acting Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who has remained a staunch critic of Russia since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Petkov has said that Russia will retain 43 embassy staff in Sofia. Bulgaria has only 12 diplomatic staff in Moscow.
"Anyone who works against the interests of Bulgaria will be called to go back to the country from which they came," he said.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova said Russia would sever diplomatic ties with Bulgaria if it expelled the diplomats.
"I intend to urgently raise before the leadership of my country the issue of the closure of the Embassy of Russia in Bulgaria, which will inevitably lead to the closure of the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Moscow," she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the European Union, which Bulgaria joined in 2007, responded to Russia's "unjustified threat" against Bulgaria and said it "stands in full support and solidarity with Bulgaria."
In April, Bulgaria was cut off from Russian gas supplies when Bulgaria refused to pay gas bills in rubles, Russia's currency.
Get a daily dose of Thailand Herald news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Thailand Herald.
More InformationBANGKOK, Thailand: Thailand seeks to invest $61.97 billion in its industrial eastern region over the next five years, in a ...
SINGAPORE: A gold-copper statue of Aghoreswora (Nil Barahi), which was lost from a Pharping 23 years ago, has been discovered ...
SHANGHAI, China: After a long period of Covid-19 closures, Shanghai has announced that it will reopen all schools, including kindergartens, ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh A preliminary investigation into the tragic crane accident that killed five people in Uttara on Monday has found ...
HANOI, Vietnam: The Vietnamese government is considering building a high-speed railway, with a possible cost of up to $58.7 billion, ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - According to a legal official, a court in Myanmar has sentenced former leader Aung San Suu Kyi ...
As China unleashed live-fire military exercises off the coast of Taiwan, simulating a real "reunification by force" operation in the ...
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar - According to a legal official, a court in Myanmar has sentenced former leader Aung San Suu Kyi ...
BEIJING, China: Following a meeting between their foreign ministers, China and Nepal have agreed to build the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity ...
BEIJING, China: Several regions in China experienced temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, including the major southwestern city of Chongqing.The country's ...
SACRAMENTO, California: California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing to give a $1.4 billion government loan to extend the life of ...
NEW DELHI, India: A government order released to reporters this week said New Delhi will continue to enforce a mask ...