The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, stated that neither the European Union, NATO, nor Spain are preparing for any war, despite the threat posed by the Russian Federation and its ongoing war against Ukraine. This statement from the Spanish minister was reported by La Vanguardia.
Albares addressed comments made by some political parties regarding the government's allegedly belligerent rhetoric and clarified, "The Spanish know very well what is happening in Europe: there is an aggressive war by a permanent member of the UN Security Council."
He justified Spain's support for Ukraine by stating, "We cannot allow war to return to Europe as a method of resolving conflicts between states."
However, the Spanish Foreign Minister also stressed that no further threat exists.
He assured that the Spanish public is "very well aware" that "neither the European Union, nor NATO, nor, of course, Spain, nor the Spanish government are preparing for any war," emphasizing that "none of the alliances of which Spain is a member are offensive; they are all defensive alliances."
It is noted that US intelligence assesses that Russia almost certainly does not seek a direct military confrontation with NATO and will confine itself to "asymmetric measures."
Previously, Lithuanian intelligence provided estimates suggesting that Russia could continue its military efforts in Ukraine for at least two more years.
