site.btaSome 25 Bulgarians and Members of Their Families Are Willing to Be Evacuated from Lebanon - Foreign Ministry

After two evacuation flights carried out within less than 48 hours apart, another 25 or so Bulgarian citizens and members of their families in Beirut and the rest of Lebanon have declared their readiness to evacuate, Deputy Foreign Minister Elena Shekerletova said at a briefing at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

Various options are being sought for their evacuation, including with partner and allied countries, Shekerletova said. She said the Foreign Ministry is following closely the developments in the Middle East.

The Bulgarian embassies in the region, including those in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Tehran, continue to operate with full services, the deputy minister informed. "We are constantly in touch with them," she added.

"We are not aware of any Bulgarian citizens who have been harmed or are in a desperate situation," Shekerletova said.

"All Bulgarian embassies in the region are in contact with Bulgarian citizens in the respective country, have information about their number, their plans, they have set up communication channels, so in case of need we will be able to react swiftly," the deputy minister said. "Regarding the overall deteriorated security situation in the region, we are taking measures to ensure the safety of our colleagues' work there, as well as increasing the vigilance and security measures of our other embassies and consulates around the world, given the overall increased security risks", Shekerletova added.

Asked to clarify Bulgaria's position on what is happening in the Middle East and on Israel's ground operation in Lebanon, as well as on the strikes by Iran in Israel, Shekerletova said, "Our positions on these issues are made public. Besides, Bulgaria is part of the decisions and the common security policy of the EU as well, so you must be familiar with it. Bulgaria strongly condemned the recent Iranian air strikes against Israel, we are deeply concerned about the deterioration of the situation in the region. We call for de-escalation by all sides and we support the efforts that France and the US are also making to de-escalate."