Robles: “With the entry of North Korea, the conflict in Ukraine has gone from European to global”

Eduardo González The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, warned this Tuesday in Brussels of the need to continue supporting Ukraine “without fissures and with unity” and in favor of “a fair peace” and stated that, with the entry of North Korea, the war “is no longer just a European regional conflict, but a global one.” Robles participated in Brussels in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) for Defence issues of the European Union, convened by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. The first session focused on the support of the European Union to Ukraine, as well as on aspects related to the EUMAM training mission. The use of the European Peace Support Fund and the extraordinary benefits obtained in 2024 from Russian assets frozen by the EU for military support to Ukraine were also addressed, as well as the EU loan to Ukraine announced by the Commission within the framework of the G-7 initiative. The meeting was attended by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and, by videoconference, by Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, who explained the most urgent military needs and reported on the situation on the ground. For his part, Mark Rutte, who participated for the first time in the meetings in the CAE-Defense format, advocated for greater investments in defense and for much more intense cooperation between NATO and the Union, and described it as “essential” to maintain, in the future, the joint responsibility of NATO and the European Union on both sides of the Atlantic, independently of the “respective administrations.” According to the Ministry of Defense in a press release, Margarita Robles began her speech by advocating the priority of working from unity, with the aim of achieving a fair peace in Ukraine. “We defend democratic values and, therefore, we must reaffirm our support for Ukraine without fissures and with unity,” because “our objective must be to work for a fair peace,” she said. In addition, the minister agreed with Rutte that, with the participation of North Korea in the conflict, “the war in Ukraine is no longer just a European regional conflict, but a global one.” Finally, Robles reiterated Spain's firm commitment to supporting Ukraine in all its dimensions: military, humanitarian and political, and highlighted, in this regard, the importance of the EUMAM mission, as well as the results achieved at the "Toledo Training Coordination Centre", which has trained more than 6,000 personnel in 127 different training modules, including maritime mine clearance and anti-aircraft defence. According to the minister, Spain is one of the three most prominent European countries in the field of training. As a conclusion to this debate, the participants warned that Europe, which has already provided supplies worth more than 45 billion euros, must be at Ukraine's side, in close coordination with the Atlantic Alliance. On the other hand, Margarita Robles herself recalled this Tuesday, in a video statement, that "one thousand days have passed since the invasion of Ukraine." "Spain's position is very clear: we will continue to support Ukraine," she assured. “Our objective: to achieve a fair peace and the defence of democratic values,” she concluded. The second working session of the ministerial meeting was dedicated to “Preparation for Defence”, a concept whose objective is to achieve greater and better joint and European investment in Defence with a view to having a European Defence Industrial Strategy and a European Defence Industry Programme that strengthens the European Defence Industrial and Technological Base, guaranteeing security of supply and obtaining the necessary capabilities. Finally, the Minister of Defence had some praiseworthy words of recognition for Josep Borrell after five years at the head of the Union's foreign policy, “which he has led to unprecedented results, both with regard to support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, and in the advances in the Europe of Defence”.

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