A diplomatic scandal erupted at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport of the Bulgarian capital city after members of an Armenian delegation were subjected to what officials described as a “humiliating and degrading” search, Bulgarian news outlet Blitz reports.

According to reports, the delegation — led by Arman Saribekyan, mayor of the city of Ani — arrived in Bulgaria on October 1, but was detained by border police shortly after landing. Officials allegedly forced the visitors to strip completely, interrogated them, and held them in a secure area for several hours.

The Armenian officials had traveled to Bulgaria at the invitation of Georgi Georgiev, mayor of Novi Pazar. Georgiev said all members of the delegation possessed valid travel documents and Schengen visas issued by the Bulgarian embassy in Armenia.

But upon arrival in the aforesaid airport, they were stopped by Bulgarian border authorities at around 2:20 a.m. “Our guests were taken to a separate room, forced to undress, and subjected to an intrusive inspection.

Their personal belongings were searched, and even the frame of a painting they brought as a gift was damaged. The entire procedure was accompanied by insulting questions — who they were, why they came, and why they chose this time,” Georgiev said.
According to him, police claimed they suspected the delegation of planning to cross the border illegally and travel on to Austria. All questioning was conducted in Bulgarian and English, while attempts to communicate in Russian were ignored.

The delegation was released only two and a half hours later. However, they were ordered to return to the airport on October 4 and leave Bulgaria — with authorities threatening them with an entry ban if they failed to comply. Armenia’s ambassador to Sofia, Tsovinar Hambardzumyan, filed an official note of protest with Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemning the “unacceptable and humiliating treatment of an official delegation from a friendly nation.”

Despite the incident, the Armenian delegation was ultimately able to participate in the planned festivities in Novi Pazar.