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Bulgaria declares Russian diplomat persona non grata

An official note was lodged demanding the person should leave the country within 24 hours

Russian embassy in Bulgaria Igor Lenkin/TASS

Russian embassy in Bulgaria

© Igor Lenkin/TASS

SOFIA, October 29. /TASS/. Bulgaria’s authorities have declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata. Earlier, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case against the person on spying charges, the Russian embassy in Bulgaria has confirmed to TASS.

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Bulgaria demands Russia revoke diplomat suspected of spying

"The embassy has received a note from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry that an embassy staffer has been declared persona non-grata. The diplomat will leave the country within the established deadline. The Russian side reserves the right to retaliate," the embassy said.

On Monday, the Bulgarian prosecutor’s office declared that criminal proceedings had been launched against a Russian diplomat suspected of spying. At the same time the case was suspended because the person in question had diplomatic immunity. At a meeting on the issue at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on October 25 the Bulgarian side expressed the wish that the embassy staffer should be revoked on Monday by the end of the day.

"After the Russian embassy informed us on Monday evening that … the diplomat had not left the country’s territory, the Russian ambassador was invited to the Foreign Ministry to be handed a note establishing a 24-hour deadline for the Russian diplomat to leave Bulgaria," the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry told TASS.

Earlier, the television channel Nova quoted sources at the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry as saying that the Russian diplomat did not leave the country on Monday. In this connection an official note was lodged demanding the person should leave the country within 24 hours.

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