The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has called, before representatives of several Ibero-American countries and in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, for the need to support Ukraine against the “aggressor” Russia, warning that, if this is not done, “opening the doors to the law of the strongest” would be taking place and that a situation similar to this could in the future affect any of these States.
Zelenski has attended Madrid invited expressly by Sánchez to hold a meeting with various heads of state and foreign ministers attending the Ibero-American Summit, in a parallel meeting to the main appointment in which, among others, the presidents of Honduras, Nasry Asfura, and of Guatemala, Bernardo Álvarez, took part.
In a brief address, the head of the Executive has conveyed to the Ibero-American countries—several of which have shown reservations in the past when it came to supporting Kiev—the reasons, in his judgment, why “we have to support Ukraine.” “In this story of aggression,” he explained, “there is an aggressor and there is an aggrieved party.”
“There is someone who violates international legality and someone who suffers the violation of that international legality. There is a people who fight to decide freely where to position itself from a geopolitical point of view” and looks to Europe “to consolidate its democracy project.”
Against this, he went on, “there is a country that does neither the national identity of Ukraine, nor of course its right to decide freely for its people.” “That aggressor is Russia and that aggrieved party is Ukraine,” he emphasized, making clear the position of the Spanish Government.
Sánchez recalled that in the Madrid declaration the leaders of the Ibero-American Community have reiterated their commitment to international legality and to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, among which is “respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the peoples of the world,” so, he argued, this posture should translate into clear backing for Ukraine.
“The world must support Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and in its struggle for international legality, because, otherwise, what we would be doing is opening the doors and legitimizing the law of the strongest,” he defended, warning that “pasado mañana, we can be anyone of the peoples of the nations that are around this table.”
In this sense, he has stressed that this is not only “an exercise in empathy, but also an exercise in defense of the collective interest, in defense of the interest of each of the nations” that make up the Ibero-American Community, while also pointing out that Europe supports Kyiv because the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, intends to dismantle the European project.
In addition, Sánchez has reiterated to Zelenski, with whom he is scheduled to meet later at the Palacio de la Moncloa, Spain’s firm commitment to Ukraine. Despite the geographical distance, he has told him that “the Spanish people are very clear that we are on the right side of history” by supporting the Ukrainian president and its citizens. According to the head of the Executive, it is support “across the board, regardless of what the ideology is and which political parties.”