We will take retaliatory measures against Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs revoked the accreditation of the correspondent of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Alexander Gatsak, without giving any explanation and threatened him with extradition, the press service of the newspaper said, quoted by TASS.

The Russian Federation will take retaliatory measures against the actions of the Bulgarian authorities against the correspondent of “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” in Bulgaria Alexander Gatsak, whose accreditation was revoked and he was informed of an upcoming extradition, TASS reported.

The agency refers to the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.

“Alexander Gatsak informed the management of “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” that the Russian Embassy in Sofia received a notification from the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry about the withdrawal of his accreditation and extradition. At the same time, the reasons for this decision have not been disclosed,” Rossiyskaya Gazeta said in a statement.

“According to the press service, at the end of September, Gatsak received a call on his mobile phone with a request to report to the local migration office. While he was on his way, the destination was changed to the Bulgarian State Agency for National Security. At the same time, it became known about the detention in Sofia to a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was also initially summoned to the migration service, and then deported from the country,” TASS points out.

“A.A. Gatsak arrived at the Russian Embassy in Sofia and since then has not left its territory for security reasons. Since then he has not received any explanations from the Bulgarian side,” the statement of “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” also reads.

TASS notes that another correspondent of the newspaper, Alexander Gasiuk, was detained on October 5 in Nicosia.

“At the time of his arrest, he was in a car near the residence where he lives with his family. The journalist was subjected to violence, as a result of which his hand was injured. The journalist was later taken to hospital,” writes BTA.

“Such frankly hostile actions, threatening the security of Russian journalists, grossly violate the European law on freedom of the media and prevent them from fulfilling their professional duties,” emphasizes the press service of the RG.