Mariya Gabriel from Jerusalem: ‘Bulgaria is grateful to Israel for its help in evacuating Bulgarian citizens’
06 November 2023 News
Mariya Gabriel and Eli Cohen discussed the situation in Gaza
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel was on a visit to Israel together with Prime Minister Acad. Nikolay Denkov. The intensive programme of the visit included a meeting with the President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog and with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mariya Gabriel also held a separate meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen. She expressed Bulgaria's deep sympathy with the Israeli people and strongly condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October. ‘Solidarity, gratitude and looking to the next steps of the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and Israel’ were among the key messages of the Deputy Prime Minister.
‘I warmly thank my colleague Eli Cohen, a dear friend of Bulgaria, for the assistance Israel has provided in evacuating the 36 Bulgarian citizens and their family members from Gaza, as well as the short-term Bulgarian residents in Israel who have appealed for assistance since the start of the conflict,’ Gabriel said.
Minister Eli Cohen stressed that Bulgaria was among the first countries to evacuate its citizens from Gaza and underlined the special role of Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel in this process.
The Deputy Prime Minister underlined the important role that Bulgaria plays within the European Union in terms of preserving the balance and unity of the Union in relation to the difficult security situation in the Middle East region. ‘Bulgaria will continue to insist on countering anti-Semitism, including through its work within the UN Human Rights Council, of which it is a member for the period 2024—2026.’
They also expressed hope for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages taken by Hamas. Together with Minister Cohen, Mariya Gabriel met the families of some of the hostages.
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