We have analysed the situation in the Middle East during the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) from both a military and political perspective, with a focus on the situation of Romanian citizens in the region, President Nicusor Dan stated on Monday.

'We have discussed the situation in the Middle East from a military perspective, with a briefing from the responsible institutions on the exact situation and short-, medium- and long-term forecasts. Very importantly, we also discussed the situation of Romanians in the area. The Minister of Foreign Affairs presented a report on the situation of the Romanians there,' Nicusor Dan said in a press statement at the Cotroceni Palace following the CSAT meeting.

The President underscored that the situation of Romanians in areas affected by the conflict remains one of the main concerns of the authorities in Bucharest.

'Obviously, this is one of our major concerns. So far, around 5,700 people have returned to Romania from the region, of whom roughly 3,700 were assisted in one way or another by the authorities, through efforts that I must commend by the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,' Nicușor Dan said.

From a political perspective, the head of state pointed out that Romania, together with European countries, is making diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict in the region.

'We have also discussed the political dimension of this conflict. Naturally, Romania, together with European countries, is trying through diplomatic and political means to stop this war, which clearly has consequences for our economy and for Romanians living in the area - whether they are residents or not, whether they hold only Romanian citizenship or dual citizenship. As part of this diplomatic effort, there was recently a meeting between representatives of the European Union and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who condemned the Iranian attacks on Gulf countries,' Nicusor Dan said. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)