July 05, 2022

Exit... the Diplomats


Exit... the Diplomats
U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov Wikimedia Commons, U.S Secretary of Defense.

On June 28, 2022, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Kiril Petkov, announced that 70 Russian diplomats will be required to leave the country by July 3.

According to Petkov, Russian diplomats in Bulgaria are a national security risk whose interests, in light of the invasion of Ukraine, contravene those of Bulgaria. He quipped that the flight to Moscow will be a “full 70-seat plane.”

This is not the first time Bulgaria has expelled Russian diplomats since February 24. On March 18, ten Russian diplomats were ordered to leave. Multiple other nations have expelled Russian diplomats, citing concerns for national security, espionage, and their country’s interests, including Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, and Italy.

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