The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced yesterday that he will appear next March before the Congress to report on the sending of Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, on the recent High Level Meeting with Morocco and on the last European Council.
“I am going to appear shortly to report on the European Council, on the High Level Meeting with Morocco and I will also be able to report on these issues”, declared Sánchez, during an interview to La Sexta, in reference to the shipment of the battle tanks to Ukraine, a matter on which the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, already gave some explanations this past Thursday before the plenary session of the Lower House.
The appearance will take place in March, although the date has yet to be decided. The Board of Spokespersons of the Congress agreed last Tuesday that the President of the Government should appear before the plenary to inform about the commitments acquired by the Government in relation to the war in Ukraine, including the sending of military material, and about the agreements reached during the last bilateral summit in Rabat.
In addition, next week the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Congress will vote on a Proposition not of Law of the PP on the military aid to Ukraine in which it is requested, among other things, that the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, report, on a quarterly basis, on the status and evolution of the military aid provided by Spain to Ukraine and on the political talks that are being held between the allies on the evolution of the conflict.
Pedro Sánchez declared this Thursday, during his second trip to Kyiv and in the course of a joint press conference with the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, that Spain could send up to ten Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, four more than those announced the day before by Robles in the Congress. Besides, the head of the Executive admitted that Zelenski had asked him for “air assistance” during their bilateral meeting.
In this regard, the President of the Government declared yesterday to SER, RNE and Antena 3 that Zelenski’s request for the fighter jets is “legitimate”, but warned that this decision must be taken jointly with the rest of the partners and allies and after an analysis of the available capabilities by the Ministry of Defense. Likewise, Sanchez ruled out that sending battle tanks necessarily implies sending aircraft. “It doesn’t have to.”
Pedro Sánchez yesterday again faced opposition to sending heavy weaponry to Ukraine within his own coalition government, after Podemos leader and Human Rights Minister Ione Belarra wondered whether the next step in the Ukrainian war will be to send Spanish soldiers to the conflict. According to Belarra, the best way to put an end to Russia’s “criminal invasion” is to “achieve a cease-fire” and, therefore, she called on the PSOE to reflect on the sending of weapons, which in her opinion could contribute to a further escalation of the war, and to use Spain’s international leadership to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.
In this regard, Sánchez said yesterday that Volodimir Zelenski had not asked him in Kyiv about these discrepancies within the coalition government and assured that, although “there may be nuances”, all the ministers are “very clear that an attacked people deserves and needs help from the international community”. As for the possibility that Spain could lead a peace initiative within the EU during the next Spanish Presidency, Sánchez warned that Ukraine will lead the process and the EU “has got to be at the table” and favor dialogue and the cessation of hostilities.
PP: Contradiction between Sánchez and Albares
Yesterday, the PP’s Deputy Secretary for Institutional Affairs, Esteban González Pons, criticised what he considers to be a contradiction between the head of the Executive and his Foreign Minister, in relation to the sending of fighter planes to Ukraine.
The PP’s criticism comes after Sánchez described Zelenski’s request for fighter jets on Thursday as “legitimate” and said that he would study it in terms of Spain’s military capabilities and with the rest of the NATO allies and EU partners.
For his part, Albares said in an interview in the newspaper El País that this “is not on the table”. Asked specifically whether fighter planes should be supplied to Kiev, he replied: “That is not on the table at the moment”.
The PP has put the spotlight on what it considers to be a different message from the head of the Executive and his minister, stressing that it comes “on the same day”. “Don’t they talk to each other? The minister doesn’t know, he makes a fool of himself”, said González Pons.
