The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, inaugurated this Saturday the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU in Ukraine, the fifth time that Spain has assumed this responsibility in its history. The head of the Executive went to Kyiv to meet again with President Volodímir Zelenski and to stage before the Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament, the commitment of the Twenty-seven with the country in the face of Russian aggression.
Before meeting with the Ukrainian president, Sánchez launched before “the tempo of Ukrainian democracy” a message of encouragement to the country in which he reaffirmed the commitment of Spain and Europe to the country in the face of Russian aggression. “We are and we will be with you for as long as it takes. We will support Ukraine no matter what price to pay, ”he assured. And he valued the fact that today the country is “in the middle of the counteroffensive against an enemy that shows signs of weakness”, as demonstrated by what happened last week with the revolt of the mercenaries of the Wagner group in Russia: “It speaks for itself same”. And “if one of the parties shows weakness, it is because there is another, Ukraine, showing the opposite: determination,” he remarked.
Sanchez was convinced that Ukraine will win this war because “it is not afraid” and, although it will take months and a lot of “blood spilled”, it will win because this conflict is also “a battle of ideas” that “Ukraine has already won because it has chosen freedom and openness against those who only believe in strength and arrogance and have dreams of ancient empires”.
The Spanish president did not forget one of the issues that most interest Zelenski, the incorporation of Ukraine into the European Union. Sánchez recalled that this was “one of the excuses that triggered the Russian invasion”, which is why he considered it fair to “honor this aspiration” by granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for the European Union. “No one deserves it more than Ukraine,” he said, although he warned that this process “requires changes, reforms and sacrifices” and that it will not be immediate.
Sánchez encouraged the parliamentarians to continue carrying out the necessary reforms that “improve the government, the economy, strengthen international confidence, attract investment and, over time, will grant Ukraine access to our Union,” he confirmed.
He also referred to the NATO Summit in Vilnius and stressed that Spain will support “promoting Ukraine’s political participation through the creation of a NATO-Ukraine Council”. With this, Ukraine “will no longer be a guest, but a member, a member by right,” Sánchez stressed.
The President of the Government also singled out Spain’s commitment to the attacked country, assuring that “more Leopard tanks-another four-, armored personnel carriers and a field hospital with surgical capacity” will be sent. In addition, he announced that Spain will dedicate another 55 million euros to help finance small and medium-sized enterprises in Ukraine, as well as 4 million euros for the United Nations Development Program to equip Ukrainian schools with green energy systems. and resilient. “We have to guarantee that the country is rebuilt and that it lays the foundations to be able to grow and have prosperity,” said Sánchez.
In the press conference after the meeting between the two presidents, Zelensky expressed some of his current concerns, with special emphasis on the situation of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, controlled and mined by Russia; Ukraine’s possible entry into NATO and the need to receive aerial military reinforcement with F-16 fighter jets.
Regarding the nuclear plant, Zelensky once again warned that both the surroundings and the nuclear reactors are mined by the Russian army, so he called for increasing international pressure for Russia to withdraw from it to begin with. But he also warned that even if this happens, the danger will remain without being at the plant. Russia could blow it up from a distance and blame Ukraine. “It is very dangerous,” insisted Zelensky, for whom the withdrawal of Russian troops from Zaporizhia is just as important as monitoring the transition. According to Ukraine, the possible Russian strategy with this infrastructure would seek to compensate for its weakness on the battlefront.
As for the F-16s, the Ukrainian president complained that he had no information or news about their possible shipment. “I ask the allies the same question,” he sent, because as he pointed out this Friday, with the long-awaited American combat planes, the “terrorist state”, in reference to Russia, “will not have any chance” in the Ukrainian sky.
And regarding the possible entry of Ukraine into NATO, the president pointed out that “we need a very firm signal that Ukraine has the full right to be a member of the Alliance because this would guarantee security for the future.” In this regard, Sánchez restated his desire for a NATO-Ukraine council to be created in Vilnius, as he announced in his speech before the Rada.
Zelenski thanked the support that Spain is providing to his country and Sánchez wanted to highlight the commitment of the community institutions that the inauguration of the biannual Spanish presidency in Kyiv entails. The Spanish president stressed that the EU has already approved package number 11 of sanctions against Russia and number 12 is in process, although he admitted that these sanctions do not provide an immediate response. In addition, the Spanish president stressed that the EU has already proposed approving an aid package of 50,000 million for the next four years that will be dedicated to the reconstruction of the country, and that it will use the influence of Spain in Latin America so that reticent countries that now are reticent because of their historical ties to Russia, lend their political support to Ukraine.
In Spain there have been reactions to the beginning of the Spanish presidency in the community club. The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, indicated on social networks that he offers his “loyalty and commitment” so that “it is a success for the country.” “Europe is a project that involves us all,” he added on social media.
The Third Vice President of the Government and Sumar candidate for the general elections, Yolanda Díaz, also welcomed the rotating presidency of Spain with a message on social networks in an electoral key. Díaz promised to work to “continue expanding the social pillar and the green pact as structural policies for the next decade for Europe” and proclaimed that “Europe needs a progressive Spain.”
