Robles responds to Trump’s threats: “No one can force us into an illegal war”

Eduardo González Defense Minister Margarita Robles responded forcefully on Thursday to threats made by US President Donald Trump against NATO countries that have not supported the war in Iran: “No one can force us into a war that is illegal and not ours.” “Spain has acted in accordance with its ethical convictions, in defense of peace and in accordance with respect for International Law; no one can force us into an illegal war, not supported by the legal framework, which is neither ours nor NATO's,” Robles declared on the program 'Al Rojo Vivo' on La Sexta. According to the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump assured NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, during a closed-door meeting, that the Alliance countries that have not helped the United States in Iran “will suffer the consequences.” According to US government sources cited by the American newspaper, the US president may consider withdrawing US troops from these countries and deploying them to those that did provide support for the US military campaign, a measure that could affect some of the US bases in Spain (Morón and Rota) or in Germany. “We are calm because we are a committed ally of the Atlantic Alliance, which is defensive,” Robles continued. “If a country unilaterally decides to wage a war without international backing, and whose true objective we don't yet know, that is its problem,” she warned. “What a country cannot do is declare its intention to enter a war without international support and then try to tell everyone else what to do,” she insisted. In any case, Margarita Roblesa asserted that the government “has no information whatsoever” and that US authorities “have not communicated anything” to them regarding Trump's alleged punitive plan. Spain is a “free and sovereign country that works for peace,” and no one “can sanction Spain or tell it what to do,” she warned. “They will have to face their own responsibilities, including those of history. We cannot accept lessons or threats from anyone,” she added. Lebanon On another note, Robles insisted that the two-week ceasefire agreed upon by the United States in Iran must be “extended to Lebanon.” “If Israel’s attacks continue, there is no such ceasefire. Iran will not accept it. We also demand that there be no ambiguity in its interpretation,” she warned. “The killings are unacceptable.” “The Spanish soldiers with UNIFIL are highlighting all the attacks that are taking place,” she asserted. In this regard, the minister strongly criticized the detention of a Spanish soldier from the UN mission (UNIFIL) by the Israeli Armed Forces, which she described as “a hostile act involving physical violence against a Spanish soldier.” “It was a convoy that was going to supply food and materials to the Indonesians. An Israeli group appeared and stopped them as they were returning, demanding all kinds of documents. They were particularly agitated, according to what the sergeant told me,” she stated. “They took him away violently and forced him into a vehicle, taking him to a town where they held him.” “This is a violation of all rules and a clear attack on a UN mission, a clearly identified peacekeeping mission, because our convoys notify authorities every time they deploy,” she added. “The UN must be very clear and demand that Israel prevent these acts from occurring,” she warned. In this regard, Robles was particularly harsh on the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz, who stated that she herself had been “in traffic stops” where she was “detained for considerably longer” than the Spanish UNIFIL soldier. “When you are in politics, you cannot stoop to trivialities,” the minister declared. “Out of respect for the military, the UN, and the soldier who suffered a very difficult situation, one should remain silent,” she added. “I don’t believe that Ester Muñoz has ever received the treatment our soldier received at any Civil Guard checkpoint,” she concluded.

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