Russia dispute with Bulgaria: Moscow threatens EU countries with "retaliatory measures on our part"

Created: 07/06/2022 05:46

By: Felix Durach

The diplomatic conflict between Bulgaria and Russia threatens to escalate further.

Moscow is now threatening other EU countries with retaliatory measures.

Sofia – The war of aggression against Ukraine poses major challenges for Russian diplomacy across Europe.

Sweden and Finland are known to have submitted applications to join NATO in response to the Kremlin's aggression.

A turning point in the defense policy of the Scandinavian countries, which has been characterized by military neutrality in recent years.

Bilateral relations between Russia and Lithuania were also further tested by the dispute over the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Russia threatens Bulgaria - previously expelled 70 Russian diplomats

In addition, diplomatic relations with another NATO member are currently intensifying: Bulgaria.

At the beginning of last week, the government in Sofia declared 70 Russian diplomats in the country "undesirable persons" and asked them to leave the country by the end of the week.

The reason given for the expulsion was the suspicion that the majority of the diplomats had worked "directly for foreign services" - a paraphrase for secret services.

The Russian government reacted angrily to decisions from Bulgaria and threatened, among other things, to close the Russian embassy in Sofia.

The Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, asked her government to close the Russian representation immediately.

The State Department reviewed the Ambassador's request, but has so far decided against closing it.

On Sunday evening, the 70 expelled diplomats were brought back to Russia in two planes.

Russia has taken back 70 diplomats and other employees of its missions in Bulgaria.

© Valentina Petrova/dpa

Russia-Bulgaria dispute: Moscow threatens EU states with "retaliatory measures on our part"

For Russia, however, the diplomatic conflict in the context of the Ukraine war seems only to be beginning.

On Monday evening, the Kremlin also threatened other countries in the EU with consequences for the expulsion of diplomats.

The EU must be aware that "imprudent support for anti-Russian measures by individual member states transfers responsibility for their consequences to the entire EU, including with regard to retaliatory measures on our part," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"Sofia's politicized decision to unfairly reduce our diplomatic staff in Bulgaria will certainly not go unanswered at the bilateral level," Zakharova said.

The expulsion goes "far beyond diplomatic practice," she said, calling on Sofia and the EU to "reflect on the principle of reciprocity that underlies diplomatic relations."

Diplomatic conflict with Bulgaria: Lavrov calls expulsion of Russian diplomats "nonsense"

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also complained to the Interfax news agency about the decision from Sofia: "Now, after this nonsense (...), the embassy is no longer able to work normally".

The EU deplored Russia's "unjustified threat" to sever diplomatic relations with Bulgaria, calling the move "disproportionate".

The closure of the Russian embassy in Bulgaria would be unique within the European Union.

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