SOFIA (Reuters) – Bulgaria expelled two Russian diplomats on Monday for suspected espionage after prosecutors charged six people, including current and former military intelligence officers, with spying for Russia.
Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said it had given the diplomats 72 hours to leave the country following a letter from prosecutors that said the two had been involved in activities incompatible with their status.
“A note has been handed to the deputy chief of mission at the Russian embassy,” the ministry said in a statement.
Sofia has now expelled eight Russian diplomats, including a military attache, over suspected spying since October 2019, putting a strain on historically close ties between Moscow and Bulgaria, which is a member of NATO and the European Union.
The Russian embassy in Sofia called the move “groundless” and said Moscow reserved the right to take retaliatory measures.
Prosecutors have said a suspected spying ring, led by a former senior Bulgarian military intelligence officer, had been passing classified information about Bulgaria, NATO and the EU to the Russian embassy in Sofia.
NATO SUPPORT
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov by telephone on Monday that the Atlantic alliance should stand united against any malign activities targeting its member states, the government press office said.
The United States, Britain and North Macedonia have already expressed their support for Bulgaria, and Borissov has called on Russia to stop spying in the Balkan country.
A Bulgarian military court ruled earlier on Monday to keep in custody five of the six members of the alleged spying ring, whose activities had been under surveillance since the autumn.
One member of the group had cooperated with the prosecutors and they were not seeking his arrest.
Bulgaria was one of the closest allies of the Soviet Union during the Communist era. It maintains close cultural, historical and economic ties with Russia, which remains the country’s main energy partner.
(Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth Jones)
