The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria announced that it was closing its consular offices in the cities of Sofia and Varna.
The consulate-general in Ruse is also closing for one month due to lack of staff, following the announcement of outgoing Premier Kiril Petkov that Bulgaria was expelling 70 Russian diplomats from the country, TASS reports.
The leader of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) Kornelia Ninova wrote on Facebook that the decision is an unprecedented act with long-term consequences. “It was not taken by the outgoing government or the ruling coalition”, Kornelia Ninova stressed and added that BSP categorically disagrees with the expulsion of the Russian diplomats.
The measure is mainly due to the fact that Russia has declared Bulgaria an enemy country and the presumption is that its diplomats in Bulgaria pose a threat to the national security, diplomat Stefan Tafrov said for the BNT.
-BNR