Bulgaria is ready to send aid to the victims of the earthquake in Syria

A one-year-old child with Bulgarian citizenship in Latakia and his mother have been left homeless after the earthquake in Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev said on February 14. Our embassy in Syria is ready to assist the family, he assured.

"The child's mother is fine and they are with their relatives in the city. The father is currently in Germany. The apartment where the family was living is completely destroyed. The diplomatic representation on the ground has established contact with the entire family. At the moment, they do not want any humanitarian aid from the Bulgarian state," explained Kodzhabashev.

The authorities in Damascus have made an official request to Bulgaria to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of the earthquake in Syria. Preliminary coordination is currently underway between our embassies in Lebanon and Syria, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Interior, the EU delegation in Syria, as well as representatives of the Lebanese community in Bulgaria, which is collecting aid.

The Syrian Embassy in the country is accepting donations for the victims of the earthquake.

"Bulgaria is among the nine EU countries that have offered aid to Syria, which was hit by the earthquake last week. We expect this coordination to be completed any moment, which means that the Spartan is ready to fly to Beirut. Prior agreement is needed from the EU under the so-called European civil protection mechanism. When we have a positive response, it means that the Spartan can safely take off with aid on board. The shipment will be met there by an EU representative, by a representative of the World Food Programme based in Beirut, and from there, through a safe and secured humanitarian corridor, the aid in question will be flown to Damascus," Kodzhabashev said.

The Bulgarian embassy in Ankara has not received any information about new cases of dead or injured Bulgarian citizens, the deputy minister said. A Bulgarian woman and her baby remain missing in Atakia.

Source: BNR