In a statement released on Thursday, Russia accused Bulgaria of being malicious and foolish for its refusal to permit Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s jet to pass into Bulgarian airspace.
To transport Lavrov to a conference of foreign ministers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, North Macedonia, the jet was compelled to take a more circuitous route through Greece.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, referred to Bulgaria’s attitude as “absurd and stupid.” According to Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is subject to sanctions imposed by the European Union, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave her presence on the jet as the justification for refusing entry into Bulgaria’s airspace.
To our knowledge, the Bulgarian ministry had no statements to offer. Zakharova said on the Telegram message app, “The malicious stupidity of the Russophobes reached the point that, for the first time in our history, official authorities banned not an airplane, but a person on that airplane.” This was the first time official authorities banned someone from an airline.
Zakharova suggested that Russia may implement similar overflight restrictions on “thousands of NATO functionaries,” she accused Bulgaria of setting “a dangerous precedent.”
To voice their disapproval of the participation of the Russian delegation at the summit in Skopje, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania called for a boycott of the event.
An official of the Greek government stated that exemptions from limitations imposed are applicable if travel is justified on the grounds of attending OSCE sessions where Ukraine is discussed. According to the source, Athens completed all the necessary procedures before granting permission for the overflight.
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