The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, announced Saturday that Spain will soon make new shipments of weapons to Ukraine, which has taken advantage of a NATO parliamentary meeting being held in Madrid to demand more military aid from allied countries to combat the Russian invasion.
Robles has praised this Saturday the «bravery» of the Ukrainian people before the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a forum that brings together parliamentarians from all the countries of the Atlantic Alliance and a hundred members of 15 partner countries.
A Ukrainian representative also traveled to Madrid, one of whose representatives took advantage of the presence of the Spanish minister to explain that her country needs «as soon as possible» more military aid, such as Hawk missile systems, of which Spain has already sent four launchers this month and is preparing to send another two soon.
But the Ukrainian delegate demanded more military aid from NATO countries, in the form, for example, of howitzers and mortars «which could be used very effectively by the Ukrainian armed forces».
In this sense, Robles has maintained that Spain is sending material to Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion last February and has revealed that next week there will be a new «important» supply that he did not want to reveal for security reasons. In any case, she assumed that one of Ukraine’s needs right now is anti-aircraft defense and assured that «in this line» they will continue to collaborate.
In addition, he alluded to the missile that fell this week in Poland, which caused the death of two people, and claimed that «the only one to blame» for this event is the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. «The only one responsible for these deaths, exclusively, is Putin – he stressed -. Only Putin and this cruel war he is waging have been and are responsible for the missile that caused the death,» he said.
In this context, Robles welcomed the «unity» shown by NATO countries in the face of the Russian offensive, which was already expressed at the NATO Summit held last June in Madrid. «Putin is failing not only because of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian citizens but also because of the unity of all NATO countries and the joint work with the European Union», she claimed.
COMMITMENT TO REACH 2% BY 2029 In addition, he stressed Spain’s commitment to the Alliance and the will to reach an investment of 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in defense by 2029. For the time being, he recalled that the draft budget for next year already includes a budget increase that will allow reaching 1.2% in 2023.
Vox MEP Mazaly Aguilar asked the Minister if the Government has the consensus of the rest of the political forces to reach that percentage before 2030, to which Robles recalled that the President of the Government himself, Pedro Sánchez, made this announcement at the NATO Summit and maintained that defense policy should not be subject to «partisan» interests.
Robles has recalled that during the current legislature more than 13,000 million euros have been invested in defense programs. «I don’t think that in previous years the situation of the Spanish Armed Forces would have been particularly well cared for,» she said.
The minister insisted on the need for this increase in the military budget because, in a global world, «no one can remain isolated» and must coordinate their actions with those of the surrounding countries.
«We have a progressive planning, the military is always very precise, and the will of the Government of Spain is clear, expressed without any doubt by the President of the Government to reach 2% in 2029», she guaranteed.
In addition, he pointed out that «unfortunately» the war in Ukraine has shown that NATO is «more necessary than ever» and he emphasized its «complementarity» with the European Union. This is how he believes the citizens understand it, he pointed out, pointing to the latest data from the CIS regarding the concern of Spaniards about the situation in Ukraine.
«We are all aware that as the war lasts public opinions may feel alienated, but at the moment this is not happening. The attack on Ukraine is an attack on everyone’s values of peace, security, freedom and coexistence,» he explained. Today it is Ukraine that is attacked, but any of us can be attacked».
PROBLEMS TO REPLENISH ARMAMENTS With this, he drew attention to the problems of the Western countries to replenish the armament they are sending to Ukraine and asked if the defense industry is ready to replenish all the countries.
In view of the possible shortage of raw materials, he proposed a centralized purchasing system both by NATO countries and within the European Union, similar to the one used during the pandemic for the purchase of vaccines.
