Spain ready to support the EU's increase in military aid to Ukraine
Spain supports and will continue to support any efforts to help Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, but this international assistance should be more structured and requires closer coordination between the EU, its partners and Ukraine itself.
This was stated by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares Bueno in Brussels before the EU Foreign Affairs Council, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
"We have to structure our cooperation with Ukraine, and this should include the guarantees that we have to provide to Ukraine. We have to strengthen coordination not only among Europeans, but also with other allies and with Ukraine. We are doing a lot on all fronts - in military and humanitarian aid, in political and diplomatic support. The message is important: we will continue to do so for as long as necessary," the Spanish official emphasized.
He noted that Spain is ready to support any EU action that could help Ukraine, including increased funding under the "military package," but noted that it would be possible to speak more specifically about these proposals after discussing them with colleagues.
Answering journalists' questions about what decisions the EU might take following Russia's blocking of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Spanish minister said that such actions should not go without consequences.
"There are three things that are related to this. First, we have to make it clear who is responsible for this: it is Russia. Secondly, we have to use all our diplomatic weight and all our diplomatic efforts to get this (grain - ed.) agreement back on track. We also have to help all the countries that will suffer from food insecurity as a result of the interruption of these food delivery operations," said the representative of the rotating Spanish Presidency of the EU.
As reported, the EU Foreign Affairs Council is taking place in Brussels. The first item on the agenda of this meeting is a discussion of the situation in Ukraine, which will be briefed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba via teleconference.
Other topics of the meeting include the development of relations with Turkey, coordination of policies towards China, consideration of ways to strengthen the stability and economic security of the EU countries, and increased sanctions pressure on Russia and Iran in the context of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
In the afternoon, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to join the European ministers via teleconference.