Pedro Sanchez on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, on Monday – March 14 – defended the need to “stand his feet now” in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin, given the possibility that after invading Ukraine he could choose to attack other countries, but specifically avoided talking about the possibility of an outbreak of war. Third world war.

“The most important thing is to measure the words and work together,” Sanchez defended in an interview with VI captured by Europe PressAnd the When asked about the possibility of a third world war. He stressed that “after the escalation of the war, the irreversible may come, and this is what we must avoid.”

Sanchez acknowledged the “expansionist desire” of the Russian president and also that Russia is a “nuclear power”; Hence the importance, he said, “We are stopping Putin now in Ukraine because if we don’t, we don’t really know which country will be next.”

“We have to realize that we have to measure our words and bet on diplomatic channels and open spaces for dialogue to stop the war”, emphasized the head of government, who insisted that ‘what Putin really fears’ is a united and democratic Europe that is the antithesis of his ‘authoritarian regime’.

Similarly, he clarified that Spain is obligated under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty to provide support to another NATO member and also under Article 42.7 of the European Union, it is obligated to show solidarity and jointly respond in the case of “Putin”. invades or de-escalates a war” in another country, such as the Baltic states or Poland.

“We will not send troops to Ukraine”

Sanchez also reiterated that neither Spain nor any other NATO country will send troops to Ukraine, but what they will do is defend the borders of the European Union and NATO, hence the presence of Spanish forces in Latvia, for example.

The Prime Minister defended the necessity of action “United, first in condemnation, secondly in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and thirdly in strength with sanctions that harm Putin, the oligarchy and the Russian economy.”.

Thus, he made clear to Russian citizens, including the Russian community in Spain, that there was “nothing” against them “but everything against who, unfortunately, that government led by Putin.” He stressed that this is the reason why there is talk of “Putin’s war”, because he is the only one responsible, since neither Ukraine, nor NATO, nor the majority of the international community seek this conflict.

Finally, he considered that Putin should join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and in this sense indicated that the Cabinet will formally approve on Tuesday. Spain is sticking with the petition that 40 countries have already signed on to the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, to investigate alleged war crimes taking place in Ukraine.

On the other hand, Sanchez announced the seizure of a yacht owned by a Russian oligarch, valued at 140 million euros, in the port of Barcelona.

in an interview in VI He stressed that sanctions “on the Putin regime” and “the oligarchy” are having an effect. In this sense, he referred to the “temporary paralysis” of this 85-meter-long ship, and assured that “more is to come.”

However, Sanchez cautioned that they are complex operations because these people have many overlapping companies and “many screens” and therefore information must be exchanged between intelligence services inside and outside the European Union.

“We have to act hard and strike hard at Putin, his regime and his oligarchs, who enriched themselves by oppressing the Russian people in this corrupt regime.”he added.

*With information from Europe Press.

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