The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced retaliatory measures against Bulgaria and the expulsion of 14 officials from the Bulgarian embassy and consulates. The note declaring the diplomats persona non grata was delivered to the Bulgarian ambassador to the Russian Federation, Atanas Krystin, who was summoned to Smolenskaya Square, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday, August 5.

The statement says this is in response to Sofia’s decision to expel 70 Russian diplomats, introduce quotas for the number of Russian diplomatic, administrative and technical personnel in Bulgaria and temporarily close the Russian Consulate General in Ruse. The department accused the Bulgarian side of hostile actions.

At the end of June, Bulgaria announced the expulsion of 70 diplomatic and administrative and technical staff. Sofia’s decision was supported by the European External Action Service (EEAS), which claimed that Russian embassy personnel violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. For its part, NATO expressed solidarity with Bulgaria and emphasized that its decision to expel Russian officials is sovereign and must be respected.

Consular Service of Bulgaria in the Russian Federation on Friday indefinitely suspends the acceptance of documents for tourist visas and visas for property owners. This was reported by the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). “According to tour operators, the Bulgarian Consulate in Moscow has informed them of the temporary suspension of accepting documents for tourist visas and visas for property owners “due to the current emergency situation”, the report said in ATOR.