The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, warned yesterday in Congress, in a veiled allusion to the coalition government partners most critical of Spain’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, that “Spain and Europe have a moral duty to the Ukrainian people” and that, in any case, “not participating in the war effort would not free us from the economic consequences of the war, on the contrary”.
“A legitimate question that our citizens may have is why Spain should take sides in this conflict, if we are assuming this cost in the form of a rise in the price of life,” said Pedro Sánchez during his initial intervention in the State of the Nation Debate, the first to be held since 2015. “There were also those who thought that we should not have put the health of citizens before the economy during the first months of the pandemic,” he continued. “But those who think that way forget three fundamental issues that I would like to share with all of our citizens,” he cautioned.
“First, they forget that not participating in the war effort would not spare us from the economic consequences of war,” he said. “It would not free us. On the contrary: it would isolate us from the rest of the countries with which we share values, principles and interests, forcing us, consequently, to weather it alone. Because, let’s think about it, if we do not accede to the request of the Poles, the Romanians, the Estonians, the Germans, the Latvians, to cite a few examples of countries threatened as a result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, when they are asking us for solidarity to help them in deterring the aggressor, what legitimacy would we have to ask for solidarity when we need it?” he asked the Hemicycle.
“The second reason I would like to convey to the citizens is that Spain is a pacifist country,” Pedro Sánchez continued. “Our history, our way of living together, is peaceful. We take to the streets against any violation of international legality, whether it is called Iraq or Ukraine,” he reminded. “The international order no longer responds to the logic of the Cold War division between communists and capitalists, but to the clash between those who respect and those who violate international legality and human rights, and one of the fundamental principles that is being violated by Putin in Ukraine is one of the most important pillars of the international order based on rules after World War II, which is respect for territorial integrity, national sovereignty and, therefore, the right to decide freely and without coercion the future of each society”, he continued. “Peace does not come alone, ladies and gentlemen, we must achieve it and not allow it to be snatched away from us,” he warned.
“Thirdly,” he continued, “there can be no equidistance between the aggressor and the attacked.” “We will always contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts through diplomatic channels. Spain has always done so, including during this war. But in the meantime, Spain and Europe have a moral duty to the Ukrainian people”, because “if we all tolerate what has been done to Ukraine today, each of us will always be at risk of the same thing happening to us”, warned Pedro Sánchez.
“What the Ukrainians are doing is fighting for their nation, but they are also fighting for us. They are fighting for the fate of the Ukrainian people, but also for the fate of Europe. They are doing it to defend their sovereignty, their rights, but also our sovereignty and our rights, our security and our democracy,” he stated. “And precisely because of this, the other European nations have a moral duty to fulfill,” warned Sánchez, who recalled that “almost 90 years ago,” during the Spanish Civil War, “the decision of the allied countries not to intervene in Spain condemned our country to four decades of backwardness, ostracism and fascist dictatorship.” “Today destiny gives us the chance not to make that mistake in Ukraine that others made with Spain. It gives us the opportunity to be on the right side of history and that is where we are and where we will be,” he added.
“We should show solidarity and help the attacked and condemn and isolate the aggressor,” the chief executive continued. “Ukrainians are on the front line using rifles, grenades, to stop the invading outrage. And we from here, from Spain, as well as our brothers from other parts of Europe, must support their sacrifice, although in a different way: with the logistical support we provide to the Ukrainian people and, without a doubt, also by inflicting strong economic sanctions on Putin, sanctions that are already seriously damaging the Russian economy and that are, as of today, the main tool we have to end the war without contributing to an escalation of war,” added Sánchez. “The war front in Ukraine is the barrier that sustains freedom, human rights and progress. How can we not defend ourselves?” he proclaimed.
“We can and must do both: increase military spending and greater social investment”
In the subsequent replies, the representatives of Unidas Podemos adopted an openly more conciliatory tone with the Government than in previous dates, although they returned to the charge against the increase in military spending, in line with the commitments of the recent NATO Summit in Madrid.
The parliamentary spokesman of the purple party, Pablo Echenique, urged Sanchez to allocate all possible “public resources” to “defend the population and not to increase spending on weapons”. For his part, the president of the confederal group, Jaume Asens, affirmed that citizens do not need “a decree of war” but “a hundred social decrees” and warned that increasing military spending will not lower the CPI or improve people’s lives. Likewise, he asked Sánchez if he wants his coalition government to be remembered for the first Labor Reform that recovered rights or for increasing military spending to 2%.
In his answer, the President of the Government affirmed that it is not incompatible to increase both military spending and social investment because “we can do both and it is also our duty to do so”. “If we do not give a solidarity response to the allies so that Putin does not enter their territory, we would be doing ourselves a disservice,” he warned. “It is our duty, and especially from the left-wing forces,” he added.
