Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova proposes closure of embassy in Sofia – Deportation of 70 Russian diplomats from Bulgaria leads two countries to extremes
Outgoing Bulgarian Prime Minister Kirill Petkov has rejected a Russian ultimatum to revoke a decision to expel 70 Russian diplomats by noon today, naming the country’s finance minister as his possible successor.
The Balkan country, a member of the EU and NATO and once a close ally of Russia, has been in political turmoil in recent days, with parliament voting in favor of a no-confidence motion against the coalition government last week and Petkov announcing Russian deportations due to concerns. about espionage.
Russia responded by issuing an ultimatum on Thursday threatening to close the Russian embassy if Sofia did not withdraw the deportations, a move the EU today condemned as unjustified.
Petkov: Moscow’s behavior is unacceptable
Petkov said Russia’s behavior was unacceptable. “We will not allow Bulgaria to go the wrong way. We will not allow foreign diplomats to issue ultimatums to the Bulgarian state (to comply with the requirements) until noon,” he said.
Announcing that his center-right party, the PP, would nominate Finance Minister Asen Vassilev to become the country’s next prime minister, Petkov also called on his coalition partners to support the party’s efforts to crack down on widespread corruption and work for revenue boost.
The diplomatic row with Russia has caused a rift in the government after a partner – the Socialists – said it would not support a new government led by Petkov.
The Socialists, who have traditionally been friendlier to Moscow, said they were outraged by Petkov’s decision to expel the Russians. Earlier in the day, parliament called for a vote to lift deportations and bail out diplomatic relations with Moscow. The main opposition party, the center-right GERB, said it was in favor of deportations.
Petkov hopes that his party can stay in power and avoid new elections, nominating someone else for the post of prime minister. Following the proposal for Vasilev, the Socialists stated that they were ready for negotiations.
President Rumen Radev will give an exploratory mandate to the PP later today to form a new government. The party, which will have seven days to come up with detailed proposals, said it would only nominate a new cabinet if it won an absolute majority in parliament.
The embassy in Sofia is closing
Russia’s ambassador to Bulgaria said today that she would ask Moscow to close its embassy in the Balkan country after her appeal to Sofia to revoke its decision to deport 70 Russian diplomats was ignored.
In a statement to the Bulgarian people, Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova said that the closure of the Russian embassy would inevitably lead to the closure of the Bulgarian embassy in Moscow.
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