Russian foreign minister to fly over Bulgaria to OSCE meeting

Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russia’s Ambassador to Bulgaria, has claimed that she has obtained permission from the Bulgarian authorities for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s plane to fly through the country’s airspace so that he can attend an OSCE ministerial meeting in North Macedonia.

Source: Mitrofanova for the Russian propaganda agency TASS; European Pravda

Details: According to the Russian ambassador, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry gave a "positive response" to a note from Moscow’s embassy about the issue of Lavrov’s plane flying via Bulgaria.

"The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has officially informed us that our minister is permitted to fly in the country's airspace," she said. The Bulgarian ministry has made no official comment as yet.

Earlier on Monday, Lavrov said the Russian delegation would take part in the OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje if Bulgaria allowed his plane to fly through its airspace.

Last week, the government of North Macedonia gave permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory so that the delegation could attend the OSCE ministerial meeting. However, according to media reports, the country's Defence Minister Slavjanka Petrovska opposed this decision.

According to media reports, the Russian delegation will include Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "his doctor, technical staff, security", 17 diplomats, including Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, and 24 journalists – a total of 85 people.

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