The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has downplayed this Friday the leaked information indicating that the Pentagon would be considering the suspension of Spain as a member of NATO among possible measures to sanction allies who do not support operations led by the United States. At the same time, he has stressed that he has not received any formal complaint from the Donald Trump Administration and has asserted that Spain is a "loyal" partner that fulfills its commitments within the Atlantic alliance.
"We do not work on emails, we work on official documents and positions taken, in this case, by the United States government. The position of the Spanish government is clear: absolute collaboration with allies, but always within the framework of international legality," Sánchez concluded in statements to the media upon his arrival at an informal summit of European Union leaders in the Cypriot capital Nicosia.
In relation to defense spending, the amount of which by Spain is the subject of recurrent reproach by Washington, Sánchez has emphasized that the Executive's priority is to safeguard the general interest of the country, but also to ensure compliance with the "responsibilities" acquired with the rest of the Atlantic Alliance partners, "as good allies that we are," he has stressed.
"There is no debate, we are fulfilling our obligations, we are a loyal partner. We are committed, deployed in many of these areas that have been requested by the countries themselves, and therefore, absolute peace of mind," he insisted about Spain's commitment to defense spending and its participation in allied operations, alluding to the presence of Spanish troops in Eastern Europe "to defend territorial integrity against the Russian threat" and to support for Ukraine through NATO instruments to finance the acquisition of weaponry and military equipment from Kyiv.
Likewise, he has recalled the summit held last summer in The Hague, in which NATO members agreed on a spending target of 5% with the reservation of Spain, which already made it clear at the time that it could meet its commitment in terms of capabilities "with 2.1%" of GDP. "That is what we have done," Sánchez has defended, reiterating that "there is no debate" about Spain's involvement, but rather "absolute tranquility."