Bulgaria expels Russian diplomat that it accused of spying

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Bulgaria has expelled a Russian diplomat accused by the prosecutor’s office of spying.

Bulgaria’s foreign ministry said Monday it had asked the Russian ambassador in Sofia to recall a diplomat accused of spying. The prosecutor’s office said it had received information from the national security agency about the diplomat and an investigation “fully confirmed the allegations.”

It said since Sept. 2018, the Russian diplomat – first secretary at Moscow’s embassy in Sofia — had regular meetings with Bulgarians, including a senior official with access to classified information about Bulgaria, the EU and NATO, and had offered them compensation in exchange for the information.

Bulgaria, Moscow’s closest ally during the Cold War, has joined NATO and the European Union in the last decade but is still almost totally dependent on Russian energy supplies.