Russian Foreign Ministry

Moldova's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration summoned the Russian ambassador, Oleg Vasnetsov, on Thursday after Moldova received a series of threats from Moscow officials following its decision to ban Russian symbols of the invasion in Ukraine.

On that occasion, he pointed out that the outcome of the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv depends on the readiness of the Ukrainian side to take into account the legal demands of Russia.
The ministers also discussed possible joint steps by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense to ensure the security of civilians in Ukraine, including foreigners.

Russia has declared diplomats from the Bulgarian embassy in Moscow undesirable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Later, the news was confirmed by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

The measure is in response to the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats from Bulgaria in March.

The note for the expulsion was handed to our ambassador in Russia Atanas Krastin.

Russia has declared two employees of the Bulgarian embassy in Moscow persona non grata as a retaliatory measure. This was stated in a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry today, quoted by TASS.

By delivering weapons to Ukraine, NATO countries are playing with fire, according to Nikolay Kobrinets, director of the Department for Pan-European Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

 As the world rushed to condemn the Russian invasion of its smaller neighbor, the wealthy Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have largely kept quiet. Middle East experts say their reticence is understandable given what's at play - energy, money and security.

Rostourism, Russia's federal tourism agency, has recommended tour operators replace Bulgaria with other destinations, TASS reported.

The recommendation was given in connection with the closure of Bulgarian airspace for Russian air carriers and the mirror closure of Russian airspace for Bulgarian, including transit flights.

Russia promised today a "strong and painful" response to US sanctions announced after Moscow recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, AFP reported.

Ljubljana – Slovenia’s officials strongly condemned Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent entities. Prime Minister Janez Janša called for the EU to offer Ukraine the prospect of full membership. Slovenia is also ready to support the country’s membership of the EU.

Military assistance to Donbas is ruled out for now, but Moscow is ready to offer it if there is a threat.