Banishing 70 Russian Diplomats, Bulgaria: Many Work Directly For Intelligence, Diplomatic Role Is Just A Cover

JAKARTA - Bulgaria said it expelled 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns on Tuesday, limiting the number of Moscow representatives as tensions between the two countries, once close allies, broke out in Ukraine.

The move, announced by the foreign ministry and prime minister, is Sofia's biggest expulsion of a Russian diplomat in recent years, more than half the size of Moscow's diplomatic footprint in the Balkan nation.

"Today we have expelled 70 Russian diplomats. Many of them work directly for the (intelligence) service and their diplomatic role is more like a cover," said Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, who last week lost the confidence of parliamentary voters.

The decision halved Russia's diplomatic presence, which Petkov said stood at 114 at the end of April.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry said the decision to expel so many Russian diplomatic staff was designed to reduce the size of the Moscow mission to Bulgaria's representative in Moscow.

Also in response to what he called activities incompatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, official jargon for spies.

There was no immediate Russian response to the spy allegations. But, an unnamed source told Russian news agency TASS, Moscow, which in April cut gas to Bulgaria because of its refusal to agree to a ruble payment mechanism despite its heavy dependence, would respond.

Petkov has taken an unusually strong stance toward Russia, as a country that enjoyed close ties to Moscow during the communist era and has long been a draw for Russian tourists.

He sacked his defense minister in February for refusing to call what Russia described as a "special military operation" against Ukraine "war".

Petkov has also backed EU sanctions against Moscow, agreed to repair Ukraine's military hardware while stopping sending weapons directly to Kyiv, and has complained about the so-called disproportionate size of Russia's diplomatic presence in his country.

"This is not an act of aggression against the Russian people," Petkov said, describing the expulsion.

"When foreign governments try to interfere in our internal affairs, we have institutions that will respond," he explained.

The Foreign Ministry said Bulgaria capped the number of Russia's diplomatic presence at 48, and had ordered the expelled Russian diplomats to leave the country at midnight on Sunday.

"On Sunday, we expect the full plane, with 70 seats, to take off for Moscow," said Petkov.

In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Bulgaria had also temporarily closed its diplomatic mission in the Russian city of Ekaterinburg, expecting Russia to temporarily halt the activities of its own mission in the Bulgarian city of Ruse.