El Mundo (Spain): Albares did not talk about the supply of weapons to Ukraine
The Spanish Foreign Minister visited Kiev, El Mundo reports. During a joint press conference with Ukrainian Minister Kuleba, he said that Madrid opposes preventive sanctions against Russia and supports the idea of a diplomatic solution to the situation.
"Dialogue, de-escalation, detente and, if necessary, deterrence," is the recipe of Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, who met with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba in Kiev this morning. Albares did not make any statements about the supply of weapons to Ukraine, although he mentioned that "all paths are open." "No one from this side of Europe is preparing for war," the minister insisted.
Russia has deployed over 120,000 troops on the border with Ukraine. Moscow, although it rejects all accusations of preparing for an attack, has warned the West of a "military-technical response" if its demands for the withdrawal of NATO troops from Central Europe are not met.
"We are watching the deployment of troops with concern, but this situation needs to be resolved diplomatically," the Spanish minister said and called the EU, NATO and OSCE suitable arenas for discussion. – We have already agreed on measures in case of an invasion of Ukraine. It is not inevitable, but we are ready."
When asked whether Spain, like other countries, is ready to supply weapons to Ukraine, Albares answered in a diplomatic way. "The position of Spain and the EU is clear: we are working in accordance with a scenario in which all disagreements are resolved through dialogue and de-escalation. Now is the time for diplomacy, and not for hypothetical scenarios that may not correspond to reality," the minister said.
"All paths are open," he said, recalling that "the situation is tense enough to create a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy." In addition, Albares raised the issue of sanctions against Russia. "These are not preventive sanctions, they are a warning. They are needed to find a way to ensure the security of all European states in accordance with international law."
