The Diplomat
His Majesty the King yesterday underlined Spain’s commitment to NATO and its international missions and stressed that the Atlantic Alliance Summit to be held at the end of June in Madrid comes “at a crucial moment”.
During his speech at the Royal Palace, on the occasion of the celebration of Pascua Militar, Don Felipe emphasised the missions in which the Spanish Armed Forces participated in 2021, with special reference to the work carried out in the evacuation of the Kabul airport, following the entry of the Taliban into Afghanistan.
With respect to the NATO summit in Madrid, he recalled that it will take place 25 years after the one held in the Spanish capital in 1997, in which the allies faced the strategic scenario that opened up after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.
“This Summit, as you know,” said the King, addressing the representatives of the Armed Forces present at the event, along with the President of the Government and the Ministers of Defence and the Interior, “comes at a crucial time for the plans and strategic orientation of the coming years; but it also represents an important recognition of Spain’s commitment to NATO and the extraordinary role of our troops in the Alliance’s missions and structures.
Moments earlier, the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, had also referred to the meeting, pointing out that it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Spain’s entry into the Atlantic Alliance. “The NATO of the future will come out of Madrid”, she remarked, maintaining that only from the international concert can challenges “of a global nature” be faced.
In his speech, and speaking of the mission in Afghanistan, Don Felipe recalled that, in June 2021, the last contingent deployed in that country returned to Spain, bringing to an end 20 years of a mission that “has contributed to the fight against terrorism and insurgency”.
The Monarch said that the Spanish military carried out their task “in very difficult conditions” for two decades, in an operation whose objective was the “pacification and reconstruction of the country”.
And, alluding to the collapse that occurred in Afghanistan when the Taliban took the capital, he stressed that Spain then reacted “with leadership” by giving an “immediate response” to the “difficult and delicate” challenge of evacuation. “It will be necessary to analyse and evaluate the final results of this mission together with our allies, and to draw the necessary lessons and lessons learned,” he insisted.
The King also had words of remembrance for all the victims of the pandemic over the past year and their families, as well as for the members of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty, both in Spain and abroad.
Furthermore, on the 10th anniversary of the cessation of the brutal violence of the terrorist group ETA, Felipe VI wished to “honour with great emotion the memory and dignity of the victims of terrorism”, emphasising that many of them belonged to the Armed Forces and the Security Forces and Corps.
She also had a few words for the events marking the 5th centenary of the circumnavigation of the Earth by Magellan and Elcano, stating: “In 2022 this commemoration ends and we will be able to take stock of what has been achieved in what has been an extraordinary three-year opportunity to study, value and understand the enormous historical significance of that great maritime feat sponsored by the Crown of Spain”.
