Eduardo González
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will travel this Friday to the Vatican to be received in audience by Pope Francis and to continue “joining forces in favor of peace, diplomacy and dialogue” in the Middle East “in the face of the military path”.
According to a statement issued by Moncloa on Tuesday, the meeting will take place “in view of the seriousness of the events taking place in the Middle East” and the main objective of the President of the Government will be “to continue joining forces in favour of peace, urging diplomacy and dialogue rather than the military route”.
According to Moncloa, the Pope is “one of the main spiritual leaders in the world” and “has made constant calls for the cessation of hostilities and the silencing of weapons in various conflict zones”. “The Pontiff has established himself as one of the most influential voices at a global level in the promotion of peace and understanding between nations”, it continued.
The Spanish Government, the statement recalled, “advocates focusing all efforts on achieving a diplomatic solution, which includes the beginning of a political process to return peace and security to the region, including the holding of an international Peace Conference”.
After the meeting at the Vatican, Sánchez will travel to Cyprus to participate in the MED9 summit, which will take place that same day and will bring together the countries of Southern Europe “to exchange points of view on issues of common interest in view of the next European Council”.
For her part, the Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, informed the press conference after the Council of Ministers that the “main focus” of the meeting will be “the need to continue joining forces in favour of peace, in view of the events that are occurring in the Middle East”.
“The president will once again express to Pope Francis the position of our country”, she specified. “Spain, as you know, advocates focusing all efforts on obtaining a diplomatic solution that includes the beginning of a political process to return peace and security to the region” and Francis himself “has also made constant calls for an end to violence and understanding between nations”, she continued.
Last February, Francis received in audience the second vice president and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, with whom he discussed “the devastation that the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip are causing,” according to the Ministry. “The Pope acts as a spokesperson for humanity when he calls for a permanent ceasefire,” Díaz said after the meeting, which took place in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican.
Last Monday, the Pope called for a day of prayer and fasting “to ask for the gift of peace” on the occasion of the “first anniversary of the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel.” Likewise, in a message to Catholics in the Middle East, he lamented that “the fuse of hatred that exploded a year ago has not been extinguished” and stated that “the inability of the international community and the most powerful countries to silence the weapons and put an end to the tragedy of war is shameful.”
