The Diplomat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned yesterday the Russian ambassador to Spain, Yuri Korchagin, to protest against the illegal annexation of four regions in the Donbas (eastern Ukraine), decreed last Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Ministry sources told The Diplomat.
Foreign Affairs explained to the ambassador that the referendums held by Russia in Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporiyia were a “farce” and, therefore, Spain does not recognize the result of these votes nor the subsequent annexation of the four regions. The Government also reiterated its firm support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
According to the above-mentioned sources, the summons to Korchagin has been made in coordination with “all” EU Member States. Several countries of the Union (Latvia, Germany, Italy, Denmark or Austria, among others) have summoned since this weekend their respective Russian ambassadors to convey the same message.
Yesterday’s was the second summons of the Spanish Government to the Russian ambassador since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. The first one took place last February 23, just one day before the beginning of the invasion, with the aim of conveying “Spain’s rejection of the unilateral actions contrary to International Law being carried out by your Government”, in reference to the unilateral recognition of the independence of two Ukrainian regions of the Donbas. Yuri Korchagin plans to leave his post shortly, after ten years at the head of the Embassy, once the Spanish Government grants the approval for his successor, which has already been requested by Moscow, The Diplomat has learned from reliable sources.
The Spanish Government, like the rest of the EU, has already warned repeatedly that it will never recognize the “illegal annexation” of the four Ukrainian regions and that it will not give any validity to the referendums and, therefore, “no credibility or legitimacy to the fictitious results announced by the occupying forces”.
Last Friday, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, condemned “the atrocious attack against a humanitarian convoy by Russia in Zaporiyia and the death of innocent civilians”, a “new massacre committed on the same day that Putin signs the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories, which Spain and Europe will never recognize”. On the same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that “Spain strongly condemns the measures announced by Vladimir Putin to annex to Russia, illegally and through the use of force, part of the Ukrainian territory, in flagrant violation of the most elementary norms of International Law”.
