Eduardo González
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, held a working meeting yesterday with the United States ambassador to Spain, Julissa Reynoso, at the Ministry’s headquarters in Madrid.
During the meeting, according to the Ministry in a press release, “the good relations between the two States have been highlighted to achieve the common objective of working for peace and justice in conflict zones.”
The visit served to exchange “impressions about the bilateral relations that Spain and the United States have maintained for decades and that are based on close collaboration in the field of Defense,” added the Department of Margarita Robles, without providing further details. The American Embassy has not reported on this meeting and has limited itself to retweeting the Ministry’s message.
The meeting takes place after Spain’s refusal to send ships and troops to the ‘Guardian of Prosperity’ operation, led by the US to protect shipping in the Red Sea against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. This decision has not been liked in Washington and the president of the United States, Joe Biden, brought up the issue in a telephone conversation with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
Initially, the Spanish Government (both through Sánchez and through the Ministry of Defense) expressed its rejection of the European Union’s intention to link this operation to Atalanta, the mission led by Spain to combat piracy in the ocean. Indian. However, despite the fact that the 27 accepted this past Monday the creation of a new European mission different from Atalanta, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, reiterated that “Spain will not participate in this operation” but will not oppose it either. Last week, Sánchez himself specified that he is willing to “study” the US proposal for Spain to participate with liaison officers in the Red Sea mission.
