<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has criticized this Friday the "delirious contortionism" of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has accused Ukraine itself and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of having started the war with Russia.</strong></h4> "We are all shocked by Trump's speech in relation to Ukraine, he knows perfectly well what happened, that the only person responsible is Putin, how the civilian population has been the victim of massacres," said Robles during an interview with National Radio of Spain. "It is incomprehensible. Since the beginning of the war, the EU and NATO have shown an image of unity, in defense of peace and values. Surprisingly now, in a delirious contortionism, he has wanted to rewrite history," she added. Trump this week called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and accused him of having started the war, the third anniversary of which will be this coming Monday. “They have been there for three years. They should have ended it... They should never have started it. They could have made a deal,” he added. “That Putin enters a sovereign, free country and condemns the civilian population to a massacre, I have experienced it first hand, and that at this moment Trump comes to say that Ukraine is to blame, Zelensky, is a very strong attack not only on Ukraine or Zelensky but on the values of democratic and free societies, and particularly, we are talking about Spain and Europe,” Margarita Robles denounced. According to the minister, “it is important that Europe remains united and in the defense of peace, of democratic values.” “Today it is Ukraine,” but there is “an atmosphere of terror” in “Latvia, Estonia, the Baltic countries, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Moldova, who know how Putin behaves,” she added. Robles also criticized the “absolute surrender” of the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, who participated this Thursday in a meeting of the world's extreme right in the United States to celebrate the Republican's first month in office. “We all know what Vox is and what it implies. I am surprised, if not outraged, by what is happening with Trump and his cronies, like Abascal,” she added. “Vox told me in Congress that Spain did not support Ukraine sufficiently, and now, seeing Abascal's absolute surrender to Trump's delusions... It is good that the Spanish take note of what Abascal and Vox mean at this moment,” she warned. On the other hand, the minister did not rule out sending European troops to Ukraine as an interposition force, as proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, but she pointed out that this is not the time to talk about it. “Sending troops would be a consequence if peace were to be reached, but first, out of respect for Ukraine, as long as its citizens continue to die, each country can make proposals, but we are all united in supporting Ukraine, for a fair and lasting peace, not a surrender,” she declared. “Europe as a whole, with the exception of Hungary, has always been united in supporting and defending Ukraine. The important thing is that firm and unwavering support exists and will persist,” she added.
