OREANDA-NEWS. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declared persona non grata to be one of the employees of the Bulgarian Embassy in Moscow, Bulgarian media report citing its foreign ministry. According to the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), the corresponding note was presented on December 5 to the Bulgarian Ambassador to Russia Atanas Krastin, who was called to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Vesti.bg agency notes that the Bulgarian diplomat, who must leave Russia within 24 hours, is in the same rank as the Russian diplomat declared persona non grata by the Bulgarian authorities at the end of October 2019. “The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures”, the Russian embassy commented on the decision of Sofia.

On October 28, it became known that the Bulgarian prosecutor's office suspected of spying on the first secretary of the Russian embassy. According to the agency, since September 2018, an official of the diplomatic mission has held secret meetings with citizens of the country, including senior officials who have access to classified information about Bulgaria, the EU and NATO.