Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have expelled a total of 20 Russian diplomats, prompting the threat of an “appropriate response” from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Bulgaria on Friday gave 10 diplomats 72 hours to leave the country, Lithuania expelled four Russian diplomats while Latvia and Estonia expelled three each.
The diplomats were expelled as part of a coordinated action “in connection with activities contrary to their diplomatic status and in light of the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said on Twitter.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it expelled diplomats because they were “directly and actively undermining Estonia’s security and spreading propaganda justifying Russia’s military action.”
Lithuania said its expulsions were made “in solidarity with Ukraine.
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an official note had been delivered to the Russian ambassador in the capital Sofia demanding that 10 diplomats leave Bulgaria within 72 hours for their alleged involvement in “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status”.
Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, called the decision an “unfriendly act.”
“We perceive this as an extremely hostile act and we reserve the right to retaliate,” Mitrofanova said in a statement carried by the TASS news agency.
“All unfounded expulsions of Russian diplomats will receive an appropriate response,” said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
This is the second wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats from Bulgaria. On March 2, Sofia expelled two Russian diplomats for alleged espionage
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Bulgaria, Russia’s closest ally during the Cold War but now a European Union member state and part of the NATO alliance that condemned the invasion of Ukraine, has expelled eight more Russian diplomats for alleged espionage since October 2019.
On Monday, Slovakia, an EU and NATO member, expelled three Russian embassy staff members based on information from its secret service.
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