The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared two Russian diplomats persona non grata
02 March 2022 News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria declared two Russian diplomats accredited in our country “persona non grata” and gave them 48 hours to leave the country. This was stated by Mitko Dimitrov, Director of the Press Center Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a briefing.
"The competent state authorities informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodora Genchovska about the evidence gathered for intelligence activities carried out by citizens of the Russian Federation enjoying diplomatic immunity. They carried out unregulated intelligence activities, incompatible with their diplomatic status on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria", Dimitrov stressed.
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be handed two notes. Unable to appear, the notes were handed to Philip Voskresensky, a diplomat at the Russian embassy.
The first note informs the Russian side that Bulgaria declares two diplomats of the Russian embassy in Bulgaria “persona non grata”. And with the second note - that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protests against publications of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the information space in recent days with offensive qualifications and suggestions to the Republic of Bulgaria and its allies. "These messages are in complete contradiction with the policy and relations of respect and cooperation with the Republic of Bulgaria repeatedly declared by the embassy and its leadership," said the Director of the Press Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Bulgarian side defined the language used by the Russian Embassy as incompatible with diplomatic practice and public norms and representing an unequivocal insult to the Republic of Bulgaria in its capacity as a country of accreditation.
"We urge the embassy to immediately remove the publications in question and to apologize accordingly", Dimitrov added.