site.btaSecurity Council Discusses Middle East Conflict

The Security Council convened here on Saturday in connection with the escalating military actions in the Middle East.

Before the meeting, caretaker Interior Minister Emil Dechev told reporters that at this stage, there is no information about any threat to Bulgaria.

Following the meeting, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov told a press conference that there is no direct military threat to Bulgaria based on information from the security services and the Ministry of Defence. He reported that a crisis taskforce is already working around the clock at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. All Bulgarian diplomatic missions in the Middle East are in constant contact with the local Bulgarian communities, and specific evacuation plans have been discussed in case the situation requires it.

At the press conference, caretaker Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov specified that there are no striking assets at the Novo Selo base, the Graf Ignatievo airport, or any other sites that could be used, planned, or promised for use in this operation. He reiterated that there is no direct military threat to Bulgaria, as the country is not participating in this conflict.

Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Nadezhda Neynsky also spoke at the press conference to report that some 11,400 Bulgarian citizens and hundreds of Bulgarian tourists are stranded in the Middle East. She added that detailed evacuation plans were drafted even before the conflict erupted. The Minister reported that alternative routes for the delivery of energy sources have been developed to prevent the crisis in the region from affecting the price of energy carriers.

Following the Security Council meeting, GERB-UDF called on Gurov to inform the parties represented in parliament of the Security Council's decisions and the reasons for them. The coalition criticized the cabinet for holding the meeting with no representation from any parliamentary parties.

The There Is Such a People (TISP) party called on President Iliana Iotova in a press release to convene a Consultative Council on National Security to outline adequate measures to protect the country's borders from a possible mass migration wave. TISP criticized convening the Security Council with no parliamentary representation, calling it irresponsible and an "act of complete arbitrariness".

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