The publication “Epicenter” distributed in the afternoon hours a text and a photo of a document with a seal, which appear to come from the Russian embassy, but the authenticity of which “Dnevnik” cannot confirm at the moment. In it, in Russian and an “unofficial translation into Bulgarian”, a deadline for withdrawing the Bulgarian decision for the 70 employees is set until 12 o’clock on July 1. If the note was delivered today at noon, that means a 24-hour ultimatum.
Three hours later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that at the request of the Russian side, Ambassador Mitrofanova was received, who handed over a verbal note “with which a request for withdrawal is made in an ultimatum tone by 12:00 on July 1, 2022 at the notes on the persons declared as persona non grata employees of the Russian missions abroad. The note states that, otherwise, “the matter of closing the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Bulgaria will be immediately raised before the Russian leadership”.
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The Prime Minister called on Russia to withdraw today’s note
In a statement by Prime Minister Kiril Petkov he calls for the note to be withdrawn.
In it, he explains that yesterday the government made a decision according to which Moscow keeps 43 of its employees in Sofia, although there are “only 12 people” in the Bulgarian embassy.
“The relations between Bulgaria and the Russian Federation are long-standing, multi-layered and of great importance for the fate of our country in historical terms. We respect the Russian people and value our cultural, historical, social and trade-economic ties. (…) We believe in the necessity from a dialogue for which diplomatic channels are of key importance. We are convinced that Bulgarian-Russian relations can continue to develop in the spheres of mutual interest, respecting the values important to each of our countries,” the Prime Minister’s announcement reads. “Because of the past and the future, we must be able to take steps forward in mutual respect for the national interests, security and sovereignty of both countries.”
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