The Diplomat
Fourteen allies plus Finland, a country in the process of joining NATO, yesterday sealed their commitment to develop an initiative for a joint air defence system, in which Spain is not participating, according to the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, who attended the first defence ministerial meeting since the Madrid Summit in June at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The plan will allow all participating nations to jointly develop an air defence system with interoperable solutions.
According to NATO, this multi-national, multi-faceted approach offers a “flexible and scalable way” for nations to strengthen their deterrence and defence in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Allies that have joined the project include Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and the United Kingdom.
“This commitment is even more crucial today as we witness Russia’s ruthless and indiscriminate missile attacks in Ukraine, killing civilians and destroying critical infrastructure,” said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.
Margarita Robles assured that Germany has not proposed that Spain participate in the European missile defence shield, explaining: “This is a German decision that is being discussed unilaterally. We understand that our participation in the NATO missile defence shield is appropriate, without prejudice to the fact that if there were an express request, which has not been made to us, we would respond to it.
“No request has been made to us. All those that are made to us we attend to, we study them and we see if it is possible or not,” he insisted, while reiterating Spain’s total commitment to NATO, citing as an example the 1,300 troops with which it contributes to various foreign missions of the Atlantic Alliance.
Despite not participating in the integration of a joint shield, NATO announced, through its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, that Spain will contribute four Hawk missile launchers to Ukraine, as part of the arms shipment to Kiev to deal with Russian aggression.
“I welcome Spain’s announcement to send four Hawk missile launchers to strengthen Ukraine’s air defences. I am grateful for the important contributions of the allies,” said Stoltenberg, who thanked Spain for its contribution to Ukraine, which the defence minister avoided informing the press about in her remarks on the margins of the meeting.
In her speech to the allies, Robles defended the need to continue providing all types of material to Ukraine and called on “the industries that currently have to provide material so that they can speed up production as much as possible”.
This aid is in addition to the artillery, air defences and armoured vehicles that NATO members have been providing in recent weeks.
Fifteen allied countries yesterday sealed their commitment to create a joint air defence system, in which Spain is not participating.
