Gov't: 121 Romanian nationals from the Middle East war zone have returned to Romania

As many as 121 Romanian nationals from the armed war zone in the Middle East and their family members returned to Romania on Friday morning, following a government action coordinated by interim Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu.

According to the Romanian government, through a concerted effort of several state bodies coordinated at the governmental level, 158 people, Romanian nationals and members of their families having asked for support from Romanian authorities, were evacuated from the war zone.

"As many as121 people already arrived this morning in Bucharest, and another 37 are safely on their way to the country and are due to arrive in Romania in the next few hours. The evacuation was carried out by air, with military aircraft made available by the Ministry of National Defence/Romanian Air Force, under decisions of the National Emergency Management Committee, which landed in a country bordering the war zone, in complete safety, in order to take over the Romanian citizens," according to the government.

Previously, Romanian nationals were transferred from the war zone by car on safe routes, through the care and efforts of the diplomatic staff in that region, after organising a permanent contact and communication with the nationals in the war zone having voiced their desire to be repatriated.

Measures have also been taken to protect national security by checking all evacuated persons upon entry into Romania. The evacuation and repatriation were carried out exclusively on the financial resources of the Romanian state.

The government, coordinated through the relevant ministries, diplomatic and consular missions and state intelligence services, will continue to assist the Romanian nationals in the war zone and will carry out, as the case may be, other evacuation missions, to the extent that the situation and the requests of the Romanian citizens require it.

"From the first hours after the intensification of the armed conflict between the State of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, state bodies have monitored the situation and provided assistance to Romanian nationals in the war zones. The assistance effort was coordinated, planned and executed in accordance with the regulations in force, through permanent cooperation between the bodies involved, the National Emergency Management Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence/General Staff/Romanian Air Force, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the state intelligence services," acting Prime Minister Catalin Predoiu is quoted as saying in a press release.

He thanked the Romanian diplomats, the bodies involved and all those who made efforts for the Romanian nationals to return home safely.