The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), Andrei Tarnea, said on Sunday evening, during a press briefing, that repatriation operations from areas affected by the conflict in the Middle East are ‘impossible at this stage’.

He specified that, at present, there is no information regarding Romanian citizens injured or killed as a result of the military actions in the region.

‘However, among the groups of Romanians (…) there are children, minors, families with elderly persons, and individuals undergoing medical treatment or with special needs. These are our colleagues’ number one priority and we will continue to inform them first, to remain in contact with them, while at the same time keeping the public and families at home informed. In order to manage this unprecedented influx of requests for information or consular assistance from Romanian citizens, we have taken several concrete measures. By decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the crisis cell, the number of staff operating the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ emergency centre has been doubled. In the past 24 hours, more than 450 calls requesting consular assistance have been received by the MAE call centre, a figure that is more than double when we include calls received by colleagues at consulates, consular offices and diplomatic missions in the affected geographical areas. We are talking about a total number of assistance requests of around 1,066, excluding the United Arab Emirates,’ Tarnea stated during a press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

According to him, with regard to Romanian citizens who have made requests for consular assistance in the United Arab Emirates, the number is in the hundreds, but the figures are constantly changing, as some were in transit, while others are residents or people working in the Emirates.

He stressed that the MAE’s top priority – both for the crisis cell coordinated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which has been meeting since Saturday morning and is operating around the clock, and for the teams at Romania’s diplomatic missions and consulates in the region – is the safety of Romanian citizens in those areas.

‘In the context of air strikes, with airspace being crossed by drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, the situation is first and foremost one of military conflict. Consequently, beyond the closure of airspace, the information we have conveyed to Romanian citizens in these areas has focused on three important aspects. First – to register themselves, to provide their contact details, telephone numbers and, when possible, their location to colleagues at Romania’s consulates in the respective countries. Secondly, to comply with the instructions received from the authorities of those states regarding the safety of their location, sheltering in specially designated places, or travelling – when necessary – with great caution, and preferably to remain in the same place if it is safe. Any movement may in itself be an additional risk,’ Andrei Tarnea explained.

He pointed out that, as the airspace of the states in the conflict zone is closed, repatriation operations – whether by commercial flights, special charter flights or humanitarian flights using military aircraft – are, at this stage, impossible, but when this becomes feasible, the necessary measures will of course be taken.

‘Until then, both the crisis cell of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consular teams on the ground are working together on sets of options for repatriation, both regarding the possibility of resuming flights once airspace reopens and other alternatives, as you are aware from similar circumstances. However, the scale and intensity of the military operations we are currently witnessing exceed what occurred, for example, last summer; consequently, no one can say at this moment with certainty how long this will last or how it will unfold. Precisely because these are the circumstances, we have a strong appeal to our citizens in these situations – while fully understanding the difficulty and their desire to return home – to exercise caution and to prioritise their safety,’ the MAE spokesperson said.

Recommendations were also issued for citizens stranded at airports due to airspace closures or flight cancellations.

‘First, to contact the airlines and travel agencies, in the case of tourists. Secondly, and to be very clear, even under these exceptional circumstances, both travel agencies and airlines have a set of obligations to provide assistance and support to their customers, ultimately to the citizens in these situations. Furthermore, in our dialogue with the respective states, we have received guarantees – this is the case of the United Arab Emirates, which is important given the very large number of citizens in this situation – that for those accommodated in hotels or other accommodation facilities in the United Arab Emirates, their stay will be extended free of charge for as long as necessary,’ Tarnea said.

AGERPRES