SOFIA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria has organized three flights to evacuate its citizens from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman, the country's Ministry of Transport and Communications said on Wednesday.
A plane with a capacity of 326 seats will bring Bulgarian citizens from Dubai to Sofia on Wednesday, the ministry said. Lists of these citizens are being prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Boeing 737 took off from Sofia for Oman's Salalah International Airport. It was expected to return on Thursday, the ministry said, adding that a third plane is set to fly to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
There are at least 11,400 Bulgarian citizens in the Middle East, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov said on Tuesday after an operational meeting on the Middle East situation that Bulgarian authorities are focused on evacuating the country's citizens from the conflict-affected region as fast and securely as possible.
"We have secured enough aircraft that are ready to fly once the routes are confirmed," Gurov said.
The situation remains dynamic, he said, and the institutions have been monitoring it in real time.
Meanwhile, the country's Defense Minister Atanas Zapryanov said on Wednesday that information about ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards Türkiye and towards Cyprus has radically changed the initial assessments that there was no immediate threat to Bulgaria.
Zapryanov said the Defense Ministry would urgently analyze the risks and variables of the conflict, which had already gone beyond the framework of a conflict between three countries.
"I have proposed to the Prime Minister to urgently hold a Security Council and, based on these assessments, to make the relevant state decisions and to refer the matter to the relevant state bodies, including the National Assembly," he added. ■
