Germany, Bulgaria to expel Russian diplomats
Russia's diplomats are facing more difficulties abroad, as Germany and Bulgaria are planning on expelling more diplomats from their soil, joining various other countries.
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The Russian embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria
Berlin is thinking of expelling "a considerable number" of Russian embassy staff, the German Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Friday, citing informed sources.
The German daily said Germany could follow the Belgian and Dutch models in dealing with Russia, meaning Berlin could expel some 20 of Moscow's diplomats. The newspaper said the reason behind this decision is the German authorities suspecting that these diplomats are working for the Russian intelligence agencies, though they are still studying several options.
The final decision, according to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, would need a consensus from the Federal Chancellery, the Foreign Ministry, and the Interior Ministry, but the German government does is not united on this front.
Several EU countries on Tuesday expelled Russian diplomats over the war in Ukraine, and those states included Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland. This was preceded by another round of expulsions, such as Lithuania, Lavia, Poland, and Bulgaria.
Bulgaria goes on another round of expulsions
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said Friday that it was expelling another Russian diplomat on suspicion of spying, just two weeks after declaring ten Russian diplomats 'persona non grata'.
"The foreign ministry handed a note declaring the diplomatic official 'persona non grata', giving him a 72-hour deadline to leave the country," Sofia's ministry said.
The move came following allegations from the Bulgarian prosecution that the diplomat was "involved in unregulated intelligence activity," claiming he was collecting "information of national importance."
Bulgaria also recalled its ambassador to Russia last week for consultations after tensions between its Prime Minister, Kiril Petkov, and Russian envoy Eleonora Mitrofanova.
The crisis in question is due to Russia launching a special military operation for several reasons, including NATO's eastward expansion. Other reasons were the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
