Operations Headquarters on the Syrian crisis works from today at the MFA
04 September 2013 News
Today an Operations Headquarters, aimed at working on the crisis in Syria, was set up at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is headed by the Deputy Foreign Minister Todor Churov. Members of the unit are representatives of relevant Directorates, involved with the issue. This information was announced today by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kristian Vigenin at his hearing in front of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly on the first one hundred days of the government’s mandate and the current situation in Syria. "The newly established unit will summarize the information on Syria, analyze it and make suggestions. Two times daily the working group will provide the summarized information. The idea of it is not only to receive and distribute the collected data, but also to offer perspectives and solutions,“ said the Minister.
The Foreign Minister said that we should not rush towards final assessment and decision regarding the crisis in Syria, as the situation is very dynamic. " We strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons, and we believe that the use of such can not be left without consequences. However, the options of finding a political and diplomatic solution are still not exhausted. The UN Security Council, and especially the 5 permanent members, should take responsibility and come up with concrete proposals and a consolidated position, showing how this issue can be resolved.
"Bulgaria was among the first countries that declared position on the use of chemical weapons in terms of our expectations of the Security Council of the UN. The statements of the President and the Prime Minister confirmed this position. At the present moment, Bulgaria has a clear position that corresponds to the position of the vast majority of the European Union Member States. In order to have further development of this position, it is crucial for us to gather more information. By this I mean the results of the investigation by the UN mission. It is important for us to know what are the particular parameters of a potential strike, discussed in the U.S., which will not be clear before Monday. Bulgaria is working on its consolidated European position on this issue," Minister Vigenin said.
In front of the MPs, he announced that on Friday and Saturday an informal meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Vilnius with the participation of the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The main topic will be Syria. "We expect more information and we will see in what direction the united European position is headed," he said.
Asked by a MP for possible compensations from the EU funds in relation to the refugee wave towards Bulgaria, Minister Vigenin said that at this stage the refugee flow is of no crisis character or likely to become a humanitarian crisis. "Therefore, at the present moment it is difficult to place requests for compensation because in comparison with the neighboring countries, the total number of arrivals so far has not been this big to suggest a need of compensation. At the same time, we have already sent inquiries to various international organizations for the conditions for receiving aid if the flow dramatically increases," the Minister said. In his words, the MFA receives information on assessments and responses to the humanitarian aspects of the Syrian crisis, including refugees, on a daily basis. "We are in contact with all institutions that are involved with the issue. Together with the Ministry of Interior, we are planning to contact the representatives of Greece and Turkey, in relation to the control over their borders and in order to enhance it, " he added.
Kristian Vigenin informed the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the main results achieved in the field of foreign policy during the first one hundred days of the current government .