The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, inaugurated the six-month Spanish Presidency of the EU yesterday with a visit to Kyiv, during which he pledged Spain’s support for Ukraine “for as long as necessary” and announced the sending of four more Leopard tanks and a package of 55 million euros.
Sánchez, who spoke in the morning before the Ukrainian Parliament and later met with the President, Volodomir Zelenski, said that the intention of the trip was to convey “all the European solidarity” to the institutions and people of Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion.
Speaking to Ukrainian parliamentarians, Sánchez expressed his commitment to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and “no matter what the price to be paid” and explained the aims of the 55 million euros aid package.
51 million financed through the World Bank group to support Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises, and a further four million through the UN development programme to provide green energy systems for schools, he said.
In addition, at a press conference with Zelenski after their meeting, he announced that Spain will send another four Leopard battle tanks and more armoured personnel carriers. This heavy equipment will join the six other tanks he announced during his visit to Kyiv in February.
The prime minister said that since that visit, things have changed, indicating that Ukraine is now in the midst of a counter-offensive against an enemy “that is showing signs of weakness”. “We have all seen the events of the past week. They speak for themselves,” he said, referring to the failed mutiny led by Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
He also condemned Russian attacks on civilians and referred to the one that hit Kramatorsk (east) this week, where the writer Victoria Amelina, who was accompanying a Colombian delegation, was seriously wounded.
With respect to Ukraine’s European aspirations, Sánchez indicated that “nobody deserves candidate status more than Ukraine”, but recognised that “it is not an easy process, especially with an ongoing war”. In this sense, he stressed the importance of reforms, a process that “has value in itself”, by improving the economy, attracting investment and strengthening international confidence. “In due course, you will be granted access to our Union”, he told the Ukrainians, affirming that Spain will eagerly await the European Commission’s report in September, which “will lay the groundwork for the future”.
As for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius on 11 and 12 July, Sánchez said that it will be held in an environment in which it has become clear “that the promises of the Cold War can no longer be trusted” and in which it is necessary to “rethink the security framework”. In this context, Spain is in favour of creating a NATO-Ukraine Council, as a way to increase Kiev’s political participation in the alliance, which would thus cease to be “a guest”. “We are also in favour of increasing practical cooperation, in order to continue adapting your defence sector to NATO standards,” he said, avoiding commenting on potential NATO membership once the war is over.
Sánchez informed Zelenski that Spain will also deliver to Ukraine a field hospital with surgical capabilities that “should improve the capacity” of the country “to treat the wounded near the front line”. And he stressed that our country has provided medical care in recent months to 650 Ukrainian citizens in Spain and has trained Ukrainian doctors in Zaragoza “in modern techniques.
Likewise, the President of the Government said that Spain will continue to receive “more than 180,000 displaced Ukrainians” until the country “can enjoy a just peace” that will allow them to return.
For his part, Zelenski thanked Spain for its support, both military and for the Ukrainian refugees, and described Sánchez’s presence in Kyiv on the first day of the six-month Spanish Presidency of the EU as “enormously symbolic”.
The Ukrainian leader also applauded Spain’s refusal to accept Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions “which are taking place right now in Spain”, as well as Spain’s support for Ukraine’s membership of NATO and the EU. “We are talking about defence guarantees, about being able to live in peace”, he said.
He also highlighted Spain’s support for the Ukrainian Peace Formula, which provides for peace negotiations only when Moscow agrees to return all Ukrainian territories. “Ukraine is ready for a diplomatic solution with the pre-war borders”, not with the “line of contact between us and our enemies” of February 2022, he said.
