The Russian Embassy in Sofia has issued a protest statement over pressure in the case of convicted opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

"We remind you that the Russian Federation is a sovereign state and will not tolerate interference in its internal affairs by third countries and their officials. In particular, we assess the presence of foreign diplomats at the meeting as exerting pressure on the court." We believe that the most active countries that under the "plausible" pretext of "protecting democracy and civic society", want to influence the domestic political situation in Russia, should first ensure respect for democratic rights and freedoms in their own countries before dealing with "navalning", the position reads.