Sofia has granted permission to russian FM Lavrov's plane to overfly Bulgaria en route to Skopje

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry confirmed late on Monday that it has granted a permission for a plane with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to fly through the Bulgarian airspace en route to Skopje for an OSCE Ministerial Council meeting November 29 - December 1.

The permission was requested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia in the capacity of the country as holder of the OSCE Chairpersonship for 2023 and organizer of the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council.

The granted permission is for the Rossiya Special Flight Squadron to overfly Bulgarian airspace to perform a flight for a delegation to participate in the international forum in Skopje.

The overflight permission is temporary and valid for 3 hours before and 72 hours after the scheduled date and time of overflight.

The permit is granted for the participation in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and falls under the exemptions from the EU sanctions against him. The permission does not apply to members of his delegation, who are also sanctioned, said the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.