The Spanish police investigate one of the collateral damages of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The shock wave has reached Alicante with the murder of a Russian deserter pilot.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured yesterday at the United Nations headquarters in New York that he is closely following these investigations and all the circumstances and implications surrounding the case.
“Any murder in Spain has consequences and, depending on the details of the investigation, the response will be commensurate with the acts that have been committed,” guaranteed the head of Spanish diplomacy in the press conference held once he concluded his participation in the General Assembly convened for the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Given the insistence of the informants about these consequences, Albares replied that he did not want to rush into his response, when the investigations are still continuing. “You have to be very careful, you cannot speak lightly,” he insisted.
But he stressed that, pending the results, “no crime, no murder committed in Spain will go unpunished and when we know all the details, we will give the answer.”
He stressed full support for Ukraine, a “country that is a victim of a cruel and senseless war” because “accepting that one’s will can override the international order would send a very negative signal to the rest of the nations.” According to Albares, “in the face of a war of aggression, silence takes sides. Being silent goes against the victims.” The Spanish politician held a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dimitró Kuleba.
The minister also reminded the press that since last October 7, when hostilities began in Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israeli territory and the retaliation by Beniamin Netanyahu’s Government, his department announced the freezing of arms sales licenses. from Spain to Israel. He insisted that “no new licenses are granted and it will be that way as long as this situation continues,” he said.
Albares also held a meeting with the Secretary General of the UN, the Portuguese António Guterres. As he explained, he expressed on behalf of the Government of Spain support for the organization and for Guterres himself in his role.
This vote occurs at a critical moment. If it already receives a lot of criticism for its ineffectiveness, the UN is in an even more difficult position due to the alleged collaboration of a dozen of its employees in the Palestine aid agency (UNRWA) in the Hamas attack on Israel. The United States decided to stop its donations to UNRWA, an element considered key to addressing humanitarian needs. Washington’s order had a domino effect in Western countries. Not in Spain.
On the contrary, Albares assured that to the contribution of 3.5 million euros that Spain makes to the entity there will be another additional item not yet determined.
Despite this discrepancy, he praised the good relationship with the Biden Government and did not want to comment on a possible Trump victory. He refused to make “political fiction.”
