The measure was taken in response to the unmotivated actions of Bulgaria to expel Russian diplomats and the closure of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in the city of Ruse.
Bulgarian Ambassador Atanas Krystin received a note from the Russian Foreign Ministry declaring 14 employees of the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in Russia as undesirable. A message about this is posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
“On August 5, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Russian Federation, Atanas Krystin, was invited to the Foreign Ministry, where he was handed a note declaring “persona non grata” for 14 employees of the consular offices of Bulgaria,” the statement says.
This measure was taken in response to the decision of the Bulgarian side to declare 70 employees of Russian diplomatic missions undesirable for no reason, as well as to impose restrictions on the number of Russian diplomatic personnel and the decision to temporarily close the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Ruse.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called such steps counterproductive and blamed the consequences on the Bulgarian government.