Russia Accuses Bulgaria of Foolishness for Refusing Lavrov's Flight Overflight

Russia accused Bulgaria on Thursday of foolishness and absurdity for refusing to allow the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's plane to cross its airspace. The plane had to take a longer route over Greece to transport Lavrov to a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe ministers in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Bulgaria's position as "absurd and stupid." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who is under EU sanctions, stated that "her presence on the plane was the reason provided by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry for preventing the flight from crossing its airspace." Zakharova wrote on the Telegram app: "The malicious stupidity of the fear of Russia has reached the point where for the first time in our history, official authorities have not banned a plane, but rather an individual on that plane." She mentioned that Russia could impose a similar flight ban on "thousands of NATO personnel" and accused Bulgaria of creating a "dangerous precedent."