Defense Minister: No grounds for Bulgaria to be target of airstrike

The state guarantees that all Bulgarians will be brought home in the fastest, yet safest possible way. Various options and routes are being considered, but the safety of Bulgarian citizens remains the top priority, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov said at a briefing at the Council of Ministers following an emergency meeting on the evacuation of Bulgarian citizens from the Middle East.

Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Nadezhda Neynsky specified that flights to Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be carried out only if the situation on the ground is safe, noting that flight slots are very limited and depend on the rapidly changing circumstances.

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Caretaker Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov emphasized that Bulgaria is not participating in the operation against Iran and therefore there are no grounds for the country to be a target of strikes by Tehran. He added that the United States has not made any additional requests to Sofia and recalled that in the event of an attack on Bulgaria, NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense would be triggered.

Edited by Ivo Ivanov

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov