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Arab countries urge citizens to leave Ukraine amid tensions

Arab countries urge citizens to leave Ukraine amid tensions
MENA
1 min read
12 February, 2022
A host of Arab nations have called on their citizens to leave Ukraine as tensions over a possible invasion by Russia reach new heights.

Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all asked citizens to leave Ukraine [Anadolu via Getty- file photo]

A host of Arab nations called on Saturday for their citizens to leave Ukraine as tensions over a possible invasion of the country by Russia reach new heights.

Iraq, JordanKuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates asked their citizens to leave Ukraine in light of current developments and warned against any future trips to the country.

Jordan called on its nationals to leave Ukraine in light of the "current developments", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Kyiv urged its citizens to quickly get in touch to facilitate their departure from the country, state TV said.

All five countries called on citizens to postpone any plans to visit the country.

The move came after the US warned of an imminent invasion of eastern Ukraine by Russia.

"The Russians are in a position to be able to mount a major military action in Ukraine any day now," US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday.

The US has ordered its nationals including non-emergency embassy staff to return home.

On Saturday, Russia said it was also starting to pull some embassy staff out of Ukraine, citing fears of "possible provocations from the Kyiv regime".