Bulgaria expelling 10 Russian diplomats - Russian embassy

MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has declared ten Russian diplomats personae non gratae, the Russian Embassy in Sofia told Interfax on Friday.

"Yes," the embassy said, responding to a request to confirm the relevant information which had appeared earlier in media.

The Bulgarian National Radio said citing the Foreign Ministry that the decision was made "at the proposal of the competent authorities of Bulgaria in coordination with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov."

The diplomats have 72 hours to leave the country, the radio station said.

Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasil Georgiev informed Russian Ambassador in Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova about it, it said.

According to the Bulgarian authorities, these employees of the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria carried out activities inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the radio station said.