On September 21, the priests of the Russian church in Sofia were summoned to the Bulgarian immigration service, where they received an order to leave the territory of the country within 24 hours as persons allegedly posing a threat to its national security.
"On September 25, Bulgarian Ambassador Atanas Krastin was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a strong protest was expressed [to him] in connection with the expulsion from Bulgaria under a far-fetched pretext, in a blasphemous and insulting manner the hegumen and two priests of the Russian Orthodox Church's compound in Sofia," the statement said.
The decision of the Bulgarian authorities is just another provocation against Russia, the ministry added.
"At the same time, we are firmly convinced that their plans aimed at undermining the centuries-old spiritual ties and traditions of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Bulgaria have no prospects and are doomed to failure," the statement said.