Bulgaria’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation Atanas Krastin was invited today to a protocol meeting at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There, he was handed a note declaring a diplomat from the Bulgarian embassy in Russia a persona non grata. The diplomat must leave the country within 72 hours.

The measure is motivated as reciprocal to the actions of Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry, which on December 18 declared a diplomat from the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata due to actions incompatible with the diplomatic status which constitute a crime under the Criminal Code.

The Bulgarian diplomat-Lieutenant Colonel Mitko Borisov, Assistant Military Attaché at the Bulgarian Embassy in Moscow, will leave the Russian Federation within the 72-hour deadline, which starts today at 2 pm Moscow time, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.