Russia summons Bulgarian ambassador over expulsion of 3 clergymen

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia on Monday summoned Bulgarian ambassador Atanas Krastin over the expulsion of three Russian clergymen from Sofia.

"On Sept. 25, Bulgarian Ambassador Atanas Krastin was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, and a strong protest was lodged in connection with the expulsion from Bulgaria under a far-fetched pretext, in a blasphemous and insulting manner of the rector and two servants of the Russian Orthodox Church's compound in Sofia," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Another provocative move of the Bulgarian authorities," will inevitably have "unpleasant consequences," it added.

Bulgarian authorities on Sept. 21 expelled Archimandrite Vassian, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, for allegedly posing "a threat to Bulgarian national security."