site.btaUPDATED President Radev: Our Current Priority Is Evacuating Bulgarian Citizens from Lebanon

The most important matter at the moment is the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from Lebanon, President Rumen Radev said here on Tuesday. He thanked the relevant institutions for their efforts in carrying out the evacuation and providing a safe air corridor.

In his words, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has the potential to threaten peace in the entire region. "Strikes have also begun in Syria. What is happening in Yemen is not a benign situation either", Radev added. 

He stressed that he had called for restraint during the UN summit. 

The first Bulgarian citizens who wished to be evacuated from Lebanon arrived Monday night on a flight from Beirut, carried out by a team of the State Air Operator on a government plane. They were met at Sofia Airport by caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimira Stoyanova and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elena Shekerletova. 89 of our compatriots were evacuated on the flight. 

Bulgaria is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, Bulgaria's Permanent Representative to the EU Rumen Alexandrov said at the emergency videoconference meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council. 

In connection with the work for the release of the Bulgarian sailors on the Galaxy Leader ship, which was hijacked by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen in November 2023, Radev pointed out that efforts to provide assistance and help have been made at all levels since day one and have never ceased. The President also added that he has been holding talks with the heads of state and government of the countries in the region at the highest level since last year. He said that the current situation in Yemen is not favourable, but despite this, channels of communication are being maintained for the Bulgarians' release. 

In Burgas, the head of State was a guest at the opening of a production base for armoured defence equipment of the global armoured vehicle manufacturer International Armored Group (IAG), which is Bulgarian-owned and supplies the armed forces of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkiye.