The activity of Russian “diplomats” has returned to the level of the Cold War.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria has declared the first secretary of the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata – the diplomat is suspected of espionage , the press service of the ministry reports.
The note was presented to Counselor-Envoy of the Russian Embassy Philip Voskresensky . The suspected espionage diplomat must leave the country within 72 hours. The diplomat's activities are incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The local BGNES agency reported that the investigation into the diplomat was overseen by the Bulgarian Prosecutor General's Office. On April 1, Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev told Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovskaya that the diplomat was gathering information of state importance, possibly in favor of the Russian Federation.
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria Kirill Petkov clarified that the suspects worked against the relations between Bulgaria and Northern Macedonia. The Specialized Prosecutor's Office and the State National Security Agency of Bulgaria have launched an investigation.
Germany is also considering the possibility of expelling Russian diplomats, writes the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung.
“The German government is considering expelling” a much larger number “of Russian diplomats suspected of conducting intelligence activities,” the report said. But there is no consensus in the government yet on whether the move is necessary.
