Albares: “The EU and Ukraine have shown they want peace, the ball is now in Russia’s court”

Eduardo González Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares stated this Monday in Brussels, at the end of the meeting with his EU counterparts, that both European countries and Volodymyr Zelensky's government have shown that they are “committed to peace” in Ukraine, and now “it is Russia that must demonstrate whether it is truly committed to peace” by unconditionally accepting the ceasefire proposed by Kyiv. “We have agreed that this is the time to see who is truly committed to peace,” Albares told reporters at the end of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). “President Zelensky is committed to peace,” he continued. “Not only did he put forward a genuine peace plan at the time, but he also made an offer of a ceasefire,” and now “it is Russia that must demonstrate whether it is truly committed to peace, whether it believes this ceasefire is a first step or whether it is setting a series of conditions that are nothing more than a delaying tactic to prevent us from moving toward the just and lasting peace we believe in,” he warned. “We are committed to peace, Ukraine is committed to peace, and the ceasefire proposal made by President Zelensky is a genuine proposal. Now the ball is in Russia's court, and it is up to Russia to show us that it truly believes in peace or that it simply wants to continue its war of aggression,” he added. “The circumstances are what they are; today the war of aggression continues,” he insisted, and therefore, “we Europeans must remain firm in both sectors: supporting a just and lasting peace, not missing any opportunity for that to happen, and not missing the opportunity the day it truly happens. But, at the same time, as the Government of Spain is doing, and as a state of agreement, all Europeans, providing predictable, constant aid to the Ukrainian government to continue defending its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and its civilians,” he insisted. In this regard, Albares warned that, “at this time, we all have to make an effort to ensure that our funding is sustainable and predictable, both for the security of Europeans themselves and for the Government of Ukraine, under President Zelensky, in the defense of its defenseless civilians and its territorial integrity.” The Foreign Affairs Council discussed Russian aggression against Ukraine on Monday, following an intervention by Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, who briefed his EU counterparts on the latest developments, both politically and on the ground. During the meeting, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (and President of the Foreign Affairs Council), Kaja Kallas, announced broad political support for a fund of up to €40 billion to strengthen Ukraine's defense and warned of the need to work on the details before the next European Council meeting on March 20 and 21. She also reiterated the EU's positive stance on the Jeddah talks, including the ceasefire agreement proposed by Kyiv, and warned, like Albares, that the ball is now in Russia's court. "What we see now is that Russia really doesn't want peace, and it really can't be trusted. They will use this opportunity to present all kinds of demands, and what we already see is that they are presenting demands that are their ultimate goals. So let's see how this develops further,” Kallas said at the post-Council press conference. The Middle East, Syria, and the US Regarding the Middle East, Albares defended the Arab League's plan for the reconstruction of Gaza before his EU counterparts and called the impediment to humanitarian aid and the cutoff of electricity in Gaza "unacceptable," which, he warned, is "contrary to International Humanitarian Law." The ministers of the 27 states welcomed the Arab Plan for the Recovery and Reconstruction of Gaza, presented at the Cairo summit on March 4, as a good basis. According to Kallas, the plan contains elements that need to be further discussed, and it is very important for the Europeans that Hamas not have any future role in the reconstruction of Gaza. "I have also requested that the Arab-Islamic Contact Group be able to return here to speak to us at the Foreign Affairs Council, and one request that Spain made is for a meeting with the Palestinian National Authority," Albares explained. "It will finally happen, and on April 14, we will be able to have a meeting between the Palestinian National Authority and the EU Foreign Affairs Council," he added. Regarding Syria, Albares described the "interreligious violence and violence affecting minorities" as "unacceptable" and warned that "those responsible and guilty of this violence, both during the previous regime of (Bashar al) Assad and in this new era that is beginning, must be brought to justice." Likewise, the minister and all his counterparts agreed on the need to prevent "a new Afghanistan" from occurring in Syria, where a vacuum creates jihadist hotbeds. "This is a lesson we must learn for Syria and one we must not repeat," he added. The minister also announced that Spain has committed, during this FAC, "an amount close to 9.5 million euros, almost 10 million euros, in humanitarian aid for the Syrian people and for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries." Regarding the other major point of the FAC, the European Union's relationship with the United States, Albares asserted that Europeans want to maintain dialogue, the transatlantic relationship, trade relations with the US, and Euro-Atlantic security, "but, of course, based on our values and the defense of the interests of Europe, of Europeans, and of our single market." Bilateral Meetings On the sidelines of the FAC, Albares held bilateral meetings with his new Austrian counterpart, Beate Meinl-Reisinger; his Polish counterpart, Radosław Sikorski; and his Belgian counterpart, Maxime Prevot, with whom he discussed, above all, European unity regarding Ukraine; and with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, with whom he discussed the situation in Syria and Gaza and Spain's support for the Arab League's plan for Gaza.

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