The Diplomat
The head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, spoke by telephone yesterday with the President of Ukraine, Volodímir Zelenski, to whom he conveyed Spain’s support for his country to obtain the status of candidate to the European Union.
On his Twitter account, Sánchez reported the conversation with Zelenski and said: “I have conveyed to him our country’s support for granting Ukraine candidate status to the European Union. It is a historic moment. Spain is at your side”.
On the same social network, the Ukrainian president thanked Spain for its support, adding that they also discussed food security problems and the upcoming NATO summit in Madrid.
Although there had been speculation that Zelenski might be present at the Atlantic summit in the Spanish capital on 29 and 30 June, he will finally participate by videoconference. The Ukrainian president does not want to leave the country while the conflict with Russia continues.
A few days ago, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said that Spain considered the European Commission’s proposal to grant Ukraine the status of candidate country for EU membership to be “positive and balanced”. The heads of state and government will analyse this proposal tomorrow, Thursday, at their summit in Brussels, a point on which some European partners have differences of opinion.
