Eduardo González
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares warned this Thursday in Brussels that it is “unacceptable” that the European Union “is not at the center of what is decided” in both Ukraine and Gaza, in response to the initiatives launched by US President Donald Trump to end both conflicts.
“It is unacceptable, neither in Ukraine nor in Gaza, that the voice of the European Union is not at the center of everything that is decided,” Albares declared upon his arrival from the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC). “In the case of Ukraine, moreover, the one who has to lead anything, because it is also the one we support, is the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and in the case of Gaza it has to be the Palestinians and the Palestinian National Authority, which has been a partner of the European Union for a long time,” he continued.
“I believe there is absolutely no ambiguity on this; in any case, there is absolutely no ambiguity regarding Spain’s foreign policy,” he asserted. “Our objective is exactly the same: to guarantee the existence of a sovereign, democratic, and peaceful Ukrainian state and to guarantee the existence of a sovereign, democratic, and peaceful Palestinian state, and we will not deviate from that. It is under these premises that we work and will continue to work,” he continued. “Spain has a consistent position in both Ukraine and Gaza,” he insisted.ç
In this regard, Albares declined to comment on the plan currently being developed by the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine. According to US media reports, the United States has presented a 28-point peace plan to Russia, separate from Ukraine, which envisions territorial concessions and a reduction in the capabilities and size of the Ukrainian army.
“I know nothing about this supposed peace plan; the only thing I know is what I have read in the press,” he explained. “Spain has nothing to do with this supposed peace plan or ideas for peace,” and the “European Union has not been involved either,” but “what I do want to make clear, and I will say this again today at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, is that Spain and the European Union will support any credible, just, and lasting peace proposal,” he affirmed.
However, he warned, “this must begin with an unconditional ceasefire, and from what I have heard, none of that is on the table.” He also stated that “Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected, as well as Ukraine’s capacity to maintain its security, and at this time, the best guarantee of Ukraine’s security is its own army.”
Middle East
Regarding the Middle East, Albares announced in Brussels his intention to request that his European colleagues expedite the disbursements made by the European Union, especially through the PEGASE program, “because there is an attempt to financially strangle the Palestinian Authority to definitively sideline it.”
“Spain is currently the leading bilateral donor to the Palestinian National Authority’s budget,” the minister noted. He will also participate this Thursday in the meeting of the Donors Group for Palestine, organized by the European Commission in Brussels, which will be attended by approximately sixty delegations.
“The European Union has been working and providing funding for many years, and today, at the donors’ conference and also in the Council Chamber, I will request that the disbursements made by the European Union, especially through the PEGASE program, be expedite, because there is an attempt to financially strangle the Palestinian Authority to definitively sideline it,” he announced.
“I will express this both at the Foreign Affairs Council with my colleagues and today at the donors’ conference, but with the moral and financial legitimacy that Spain is the main bilateral donor to the Palestinian Authority’s budget,” he insisted.
Sahel and Sudan
Furthermore, Albares stressed the need for the European Union to remain “on the ground” in the Sahel because “what the European Union cannot do is disappear from the Sahel; on the contrary, it must have a significant presence.” “We are talking about 150,000 deaths recorded so far in Sudan, and 15 million displaced persons,” he reminded everyone. This is “another humanitarian catastrophe that we must try to put an end to, and the European Union must also have a strong presence,” he warned. Therefore, he announced, “I will request, as we have always done, that the European Union continue to be a leading actor with all kinds of missions.”
