Russia has closed the Consulate General in Varna!

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Russia, which declared Bulgaria an "unfriendly country" in the first days of the Ukraine war, has closed its Consulate General in Varna.

It was learned that the lease agreement with the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the building used by the Russian Consulate General in Varna, which expired on November 1, was not renewed.

In an announcement published on the website of the Consulate General in Varna at the beginning of September, it was reported that no service would be provided as of October 2.

It is known that the Consulate General, whose signs were also taken down, was evacuated a while ago.

Russia will continue to provide consular services in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and Ruse.

70 Russian diplomats were asked to evacuate

Bulgaria's relations with Russia were strained at the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine. Russia declared Bulgaria an "unfriendly country" and cut off natural gas supplies.

In June 2022, Bulgaria declared 70 of Russia's 114 diplomats "persona non grata" and deported them with their families. Among those declared "persona non grata" was Russia's Consul General in Varna.

Russia, whose diplomats were treated as spies, announced that it would face problems in providing consular services due to staff shortages caused by this action.

Bulgaria has sided with Ukraine since the beginning of the war and continues to provide arms aid to the country.

In the coalition government of President Rumen Radev and the ruling pro-NATO and pro-EU Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, the opposition has always opposed arms aid.