Bulgaria expels 2 Russian diplomats for alleged espionage

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry on Monday said it has declared two diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Sofia persona non grata and has given them 72 hours to leave the country, reported Xinhua.

A note with this content was handed to the Deputy Head of the Russian Embassy on Monday, the ministry said in a statement.

As grounds for the expulsion, the ministry cited a letter from the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria that the two diplomats had carried out activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.

Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office said on its website that the two Russian citizens have carried out "intelligence activity."

The Russian Embassy in Sofia on Monday confirmed the expulsion. "We have to state with regret that this yet another groundless demarche of the Bulgarian authorities will not contribute to the further building of a constructive Russian-Bulgarian dialogue," the Russian Embassy said in a statement.

"The Russian side reserves the right to retaliate," it added.

Bulgaria, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 2004, has reportedly expelled five staff members of the Russian Embassy in Sofia last year, including four diplomats and one member of the technical staff.