Ukraine “is a one-man war”, Vladimir Putin, who “thinks he can still win by attrition”. Despite this, “Russia cannot win, because it would encourage others and any country could suffer a war of aggression”, affirmed yesterday in Barcelona the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who had just arrived from the Conference on Disarmament and the Human Rights Council in Geneva. It was in a dialogue session with Pol Morillas, director of Cidob, in which he also answered questions from the public about the two years of war in Ukraine and the future of Europe.
Having said all this, and regarding the recent survey of the European Council on Foreign Relations, according to which very few Europeans have confidence in a Ukrainian victory, Albares stressed that “there cannot be a fatigue – the so-called war fatigue – of the allies of Kyiv; we must continue as before. Every day there are serious violations of human rights in Ukraine.” On the other hand, he pointed out, “we never hear Russia talk about peace, only war”.
Faced with the frequent opinion that Ukraine will one day have to negotiate, perhaps even ceding territory for sovereignty, the Spanish minister stated that “Putin gives no sign” of being ready to withdraw from the invaded country, and “that’s why we must help Ukraine. An unjust war cannot be ended with an unjust peace”.
How would relations with Russia be, in any case? According to Albares, “no one wants to have bad relations with Russia. We must have a relationship based on the principles of the United Nations Charter”, against which precisely, he affirmed, there is this war.
Meanwhile, the minister said, security guarantees are already being given to Ukraine, beyond the path open for the country to the European Union and NATO: the so-called fund for peace, agreed at the Vilnius summit, and a series of bilateral guarantees. Albares pointed out, in this sense, yesterday’s meeting at the Elysee, in Paris, and stressed that “the guarantees are there, what we are doing now is structuring them”.
Regarding Ukraine’s path towards the European Union, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kyiv “needed a strong political signal, and since the Spanish presidency of the EU we were at the forefront” of this desire . “But we are facing a country at war. Reforms and efforts in different chapters to meet the entry requirements must go hand in hand with European aid”. So he said he had discussed it with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitró Kuleba. “The important thing is that the path has begun and it is irreversible.”
However, there are more complex issues right now about the war in Ukraine, and it is the perception that this war often has outside the European concert. “Many Arabs or Ibero-Americans think it’s a European war”, acknowledged Albares. And “the situation in Gaza has only accentuated the feeling that this is a war of the Europeans”. Despite this, he insisted, “it is an imperialist war”.
Linking Ukraine and Gaza is not simple in diplomatic terms, but obviously the same concern floated yesterday among the public that filled the Cidob conference room. “As we Europeans stand in front of the war in Gaza, our position must be the same” with respect to Ukraine, said Albares, who in Geneva also had the opportunity to address the Palestinian issue. “I recalled the request for a ceasefire, the access of humanitarian aid, the release of hostages and the support we give to UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian refugees), with a first contribution of 3.5 million euros. What we want is peace, the protection of defenseless civilians and the defense of the principles of the United Nations Charter”, he said at the beginning of the meeting in response to questions from the press. “I’m talking about a permanent, immediate ceasefire”. “We run the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe” if Israel continues with the offensive in Rafah. “And the situation in the West Bank is already very tense.”
“The hope of the Palestinians is intertwined with the security of Israel; both have a right to peace and security. For me, it is Gaza and the West Bank united by a corridor, access to the sea and the capital in East Jerusalem”, concluded Albares.
