Eduardo González/Ane Barcos
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez did not participate this Monday in a joint teleconference of several European leaders with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen; European Council President António Costa; and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, to coordinate efforts within the framework of the peace plan for Ukraine.
During the joint video call, the European and Ukrainian leaders coordinated actions to advance peace negotiations and ensure long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. “The format is really useful,” Zelensky stated after the conversation, which involved representatives from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, the European Commission, the European Council, and NATO. This exchange took place in the context of a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron, held at the Élysée Palace in Paris.
This is not the first time Pedro Sánchez has been left out of a high-level European meeting on Ukraine. For example, the Prime Minister did not participate in an emergency virtual meeting on the future of Ukraine convened in mid-August by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which was attended by US President Donald Trump; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, and Finland; the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa; and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Likewise, on August 18, the leaders of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Finland, the NATO Secretary General, and Ursula von der Leyen met at the White House with Trump and Zelensky.
Sánchez did not participate in that meeting, nor did any representative of the Spanish government in a teleconference held just a week later between the foreign ministers of the five EU countries (Finland, France, Germany, Poland, and Italy), the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, and the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
As a result, the People’s Parliamentary Group denounced—in a written parliamentary question submitted on September 1 by MPs Pablo Hispán and Belén Hoyo—that Pedro Sánchez’s government had been “left out” of the recent meetings between the United States and several European countries to coordinate efforts on Ukraine due to “its chaotic lack of foreign policy and its persistent errors.”
During Monday’s meeting, key aspects of the peace negotiations and security guarantees for Ukraine were addressed. Zelensky emphasized the importance of the active participation of international leaders, stressing that their involvement will be essential for a successful resolution of the conflict.
One of the topics discussed in the call was the content of the talks held by the Ukrainian delegation with US representatives in Florida last Sunday, as part of the peace negotiations promoted by the Trump administration.
Zelensky noted that “we are preparing for meetings in Europe,” and the European leaders agreed on the urgent need to end the war, underscoring that any peace process must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and lay the foundations for its future security. In this regard, the Ukrainian president thanked his European counterparts for their continued support and stressed the importance of continued collaboration to strengthen the resilience of both Ukraine and all of Europe.
For her part, Ursula von der Leyen reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to a just and lasting peace agreement for Ukraine, noting that Europe continues to work to improve the country’s defense capabilities and is preparing legal and financial proposals to support it. “We continue to work with our partners to meet Ukraine’s needs and ensure its long-term stability,” said Von der Leyen.
The President of the European Commission announced that Brussels will present this week the necessary legal proposals to guarantee continued support for Kyiv, with the aim of consolidating peace efforts and strengthening Ukraine’s capacity to address security challenges as the conflict resolution process progresses.