SOFIA, November 1. /TASS/: A Russian diplomat was expelled from Bulgaria earlier this week over allegedly trying to recruit a high-ranking staff member, who had access to classified data, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Friday.
"I don’t yield to external pressure: when many our partner countries expelled Russian diplomats [in connection with the Skripal poisoning case] we did not do that. But when a high-level diplomat recruits my senior officials, we immediately responded. We did not only show political will, but also pointed to meddling in our domestic affairs and attempts to recruit our people," Borisov told bTV channel.
According to him, the person, whom the Russian diplomat allegedly tried to recruit, informed special services about that. "I hope Russia will appreciate the effort that we have carried out," the premier said.
The Bulgarian prime minister also said that a Russian military attache, who was denied visa to work for Russia’s embassy in Sofia, had been included in the sanctions lists.
On Tuesday, Bulgaria’s authorities declared persona non grata a Russian diplomat, who had been earlier charged with espionage. The prosecutors claimed that a staff member of Russia’s embassy was collecting highly sensitive data linked to Bulgaria, the European Union and NATO, and also held secret meetings and recruited Bulgarian citizens. A criminal investigation was suspended since the person in question enjoyed diplomatic immunity. On October 30, the staff member of Russia’s Embassy, who had been declared persona non grata, left Bulgaria.
