The Diplomat
The Popular Party and Ciudadanos want the Government to explain its position on the current crises in Ukraine and Kazakhstan and the role that Russia is playing in them.
Specifically, the Popular Parliamentary Group requests that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, appear before the corresponding Commission of the Congress of Deputies, and give an account of what the Executive thinks about the tension on the Ukrainian border with Russia, where in recent weeks Russian troops have been concentrated, and about Vladimir Putin’s sending Russian forces to Kazakhstan to help the Kazakh authorities quell the protests.
So far, the Spanish government has not commented on what is happening in Kazakhstan, where protests that began over rising liquefied gas prices have spread across the country and have resulted in assaults on government buildings and dozens of protesters and security personnel killed. President Kasim Khomart Tokayev has issued a shoot-to-kill order without warning to those involved in the protests, whom he describes as “terrorists”, and has called for Russian help.
With regard to Ukraine, Albares himself has repeatedly reiterated his support for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while at the same time calling for dialogue with Russia to resolve the crisis.
In a written question to the government, Ciudadanos deputy María del Carmen Martínez Granados asks what actions are going to be taken within the EU “to ensure the stability of Kazakhstan and its transition to a liberal democracy”.
The MP, according to Europa Press, also asks the government to clarify whether there have been talks with Russia “on the critical security situation in Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan” and, if so, whether Spain’s commitment “to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the need to avoid interference in the democratisation processes of the countries that were part of the Soviet Union” has been conveyed.
If there have been no contacts, the Cs deputy asks if there are plans to maintain them “given the importance that respect for and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms must have in our external action”.
Granados also asks the government whether it plans to “promote specific sanctions against those responsible for the decisions to mobilise Russian troops” on the border with Ukraine and is interested in knowing “what assets and economic activities, quantified in euros, Russian leaders have in Spain and, therefore, could be subject to specific sanctions for interference in countries such as Ukraine”.
