“I am in constant contact with the security services, all possible routes and evacuation approaches are being considered,” President Rumen Radev told reporters last night in Hissarya, in a comment on the situation in the Middle East and the ways Bulgarian citizens can be evacuated from Israel and Iran, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reports. Active efforts are underway, together with the partner services, to provide a safe corridor, the Bulgarian president said further.

• A coordination center at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will monitor the situation in the Middle East

It is not possible to airlift our compatriots out of Israel, Rumen Radev said, that is why all land corridors are being considered. “I hope this evacuation will be successful, as we must take into account the dynamics of the strikes the two countries are currently exchanging,” he said.

Rumen Radev also commented on the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, saying that what is more dangerous than the bombs and the missiles is the fact we are beginning to regard war as something normal. “We are beginning to get used to the fact that anyone can use missiles, bombs to settle their own international issues and problems. It is troubling to see that the international community is unable to react adequately to this situation, and even more troubling that the UN is looking on helplessly,” said the president. All institutions need to be mobilized for a cease-fire, he said further.

As regards the adoption off the euro in this country, Rumen Radev levelled criticism against the government, saying: “Instead of taking steps to keep the level of purchasing power of the public, significant sums are being poured into propaganda and advertising the euro,” the president said and added that hubris and manipulation are elevating tensions and bringing people out into the streets, BGNES reports.

• Constitutional Court rejects calls for referendum on the euro

“Though there have been widespread insinuations that the Constitutional Court rejected my request for a referendum, that is not so,” Rumen Radev stated, and went on that the Court is going to look into what is most important – whether the president of the National Assembly has the powers to make a decision on the admissibility of a national referendum, rejecting a request by an entity empowered by law.

Edited by Diana Tsankova
Translated and posted by Milena Daynova
Photos: BTA