Moscow acknowledges that its response to the expulsion of 70 members of Bulgaria’s diplomatic corps could affect the EU as a whole, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“Sofia’s political decision to unfairly reduce our diplomatic staff in Bulgaria Of course there will be no mutual response“, Maria Zakharova announced in a statement.
Considering that Bulgaria’s expulsion was “beyond diplomatic practice”, he stressed that Sofia and the European Union should “reflect the principle of reciprocity based on international relations”.
Moscow threatens to sever ties with Sofia over expulsion of 70 diplomats
He added that European diplomacy must “understand that ill-conceived support for anti-Russian actions by various member states places responsibility for its consequences on the EU as a whole.”
The Russian ambassador in Sofia acknowledged the closure of the embassy in the country on Friday. After Bulgaria rejected the decision to expel 70 Russian diplomats.
It is a member of the European Union and NATO, but an undecided number of exits by this Balkan state, traditionally close to Moscow.
For its part, the European Union “condemned the Russian Federation’s unjustified threat to sever diplomatic relations with Bulgaria”, calling it disproportionate.
Several European countries expelled Russian diplomats after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, and the Russian Federation responded with similar measures.
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