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

According to him, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has the potential to threaten peace in the entire region. The attacks have also started in Syria. What is happening in Yemen is not a good situation", added Radev.

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

The first Bulgarian nationals who wanted to be evacuated from Lebanon arrived on Monday night on a flight from Beirut, carried out by a State Air Operator team on a government plane. They were received at Sofia airport by Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, Minister of Transport and Communications Krasimira Stojanova, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Elena Shekerletova. 89 of our compatriots were evacuated during the flight.

Bulgaria is deeply concerned about the worsening situation in the Middle East, Bulgaria's Permanent Representative to the EU Rumen Aleksandrov said at the emergency video conference meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.

Regarding the work to free the Bulgarian sailors on the Galaxy Leader ship, which was hijacked by the Houthis off the coast of Yemen in November 2023, Radev emphasized that efforts to provide assistance have been made at all levels since the first day and have not never rested. The president has also added that since last year he has held talks with the heads of state and governments of the countries of the region at the highest level. He said that the current situation in Yemen is not favorable, but despite this, communication channels are being maintained for the release of the Bulgarians.

In Burgas, the head of state was invited to the opening of a production base for armored defense equipment of the global manufacturer of armored vehicles International Armored Group (IAG), which is owned by Bulgaria and supplies the armed forces of the United States , Canada, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey./BTA/