Albares responds to Rutte: “NATO will not participate in this war because the Middle East is not within its sphere of influence”

Eduardo González Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares asserted this Friday that NATO will not participate in the war against Iran because “the allies have not been informed or consulted” and because “the Middle East is not within its sphere of influence.” This Thursday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte conveyed to some of the Alliance's member states that US President Donald Trump “expects commitments and concrete actions to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.” Rutte held a meeting with Trump in Washington this Wednesday, during which the US president threatened to withdraw his country from NATO in retaliation for the refusal of European allies to support him in the war against Iran. “NATO has no involvement in this war,” Albares told the press on Friday before appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to explain Spain’s position on the current situation in the Middle East. “We allies have not been informed or consulted. The Middle East is not within NATO’s sphere of influence, and therefore, not only us, but many allies have expressed the same sentiment: NATO will not participate in this war,” he added. Albares also insisted on the need for the current ceasefire between Iran and the United States to include Lebanon, because Israel, “since the ceasefire was announced and before the parties could even sit down at the negotiating table, has carried out bombings that have already resulted in more than 300 deaths in the last few hours and more than a thousand injuries.” “Lebanon is a sovereign state, and the Lebanese people have the right to peace and security, exactly the same right as the people of Israel,” he reiterated. He also warned that Iran “must cease all missile and drone launches against all countries in the Middle East.” “I conveyed this to the Iranian Foreign Minister (Abbas Araghchi) when I spoke with him the day before yesterday,” he added. “I encourage Iran, as I also conveyed to the Iranian Foreign Minister, to participate in these negotiations in good faith, to achieve a permanent ceasefire that paves the way for peace,” he continued. “Thirdly, the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened immediately, freely and safely,” he added. “The situation prior to this war must be restored, and of course, Spain strongly supports Pakistan's mediation, as I conveyed to my counterpart (Ishaq Dar). We support the parties sitting down in good faith to negotiate and taking advantage of these two weeks that offer an opportunity for diplomacy and dialogue,” he concluded. “We must remember that, although this ceasefire and these two weeks of negotiations have very powerful enemies, there are many more of us who want negotiation, peace and diplomacy to triumph, and I hope, and I will request it today in the Senate as I did yesterday in Congress, that all Spanish political forces will support and back the Government in these three objectives and in this effort to condemn an illegal war and for Lebanon to be included in this ceasefire,” he added.

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