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Kremlin spokesman slams Bulgaria’s diplomatic overflight ban as 'absurd'

"I would like to address the Bulgarian authorities and urge them to try their best to be rational when making decisions," Dmitry Peskov added

MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. Bulgaria’s refusal to open its airspace to a Russian plane just because it had Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on board was "absurd" and "stupid," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Undoubtedly, the position of the Bulgarian authorities can hardly be explained. That’s the first thing. Secondly, it certainly goes too far. And third, it is absolutely absurd and can even be described as stupid," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"I would like to address the Bulgarian authorities and urge them to try their best to be rational when making decisions," he added.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Macedonia’s capital of Skopje for an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting. His plane traveled through Greece even though the flight had initially been expected to pass through Bulgaria’s airspace. However, Sofia refused to open its airspace to the top Russian diplomat’s aircraft because Zakharova was onboard. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman slammed Bulgaria’s decision as "dangerous stupidity." According to her, for the first time in history, a government banned a person onboard a plane instead of the plane, because according to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry’s statement, the aircraft had permission to cross the country’s airspace.

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Foreign policy Dmitry Peskov Bulgaria

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