Russia expels 14 Bulgarian diplomats in retaliation

MOSCOW, Aug. 5– Russia declared 14 Bulgarian diplomats “personae non gratae” on Friday in response to Bulgaria’s expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats and other measures against Russia’s foreign missions. Bulgarian Ambassador to Russia Atanas Krastin was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and informed of Moscow’s decision to expel 14 employees of the…

MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — Russia declared 14 Bulgarian diplomats “personae non gratae” on Friday in response to Bulgaria’s expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats and other measures against Russia’s foreign missions.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Russia Atanas Krastin was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and informed of Moscow’s decision to expel 14 employees of the Bulgarian Embassy and consular offices, the ministry said in a statement.

In June, Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced that his country would expel 70 Russian diplomats, alleging that they worked against Bulgaria’s interests.

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs later capped the number of staff at the Russian missions in Bulgaria at no more than 23 diplomats and 25 administrative and technical staff, equivalent to the then number of staff at the Bulgarian missions in Russia. Enditem