Albares advocates not closing the door to Russian citizens and allowing the arrival of refugees and opponents

Clarifies that security must be taken into account and that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis

MADRID, 26 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has indicated that the EU has reached a "balanced" agreement regarding the entry of Russian citizens, by suspending the agreement to facilitate visas but not closing it completely, thinking of the possible arrival of refugees, opponents of the war or human rights defenders.

At an informative breakfast for Europa Press, the minister recalled that those responsible for Foreign Affairs of the EU decided to suspend the agreement to facilitate visas, which made it very easy for Russian citizens to obtain a permit to travel to Europe and therefore they have returned to the system of individual interviews.

However, he clarified that the decision was made not to completely close the door "precisely thinking of these people" who want to leave the country because of their position against the war and who are risking their lives, as is happening now with those who they demonstrate against the partial mobilization decreed by Putin and try to leave the country.

Thus, he stressed that at this time it is necessary to have "courage" and "courage" to demonstrate in Russia since that decision can cost years in prison. In this way, Albares has opened the door to the citizens of this country who share European "values". "They have a place among us," he assured.

Along the same lines, he has indicated that there is an agreement within the European Union for the arrival of Russian refugees and that Spain is in favor of people who are in those circumstances - opponents of the war, defenders of human rights workers of non-governmental organizations and journalists, among others-- have a visa to come to Spain.

In spite of everything, he has warned that security issues must be taken into account and that it is not that there is "an avalanche of Russian citizens" and that the Spanish authorities do not know who are those who are entering. Therefore, he has made it clear that these requests would have to be dealt with on a "case by case" basis.

Regarding the possibility of establishing a cap on Russian oil, Albares has conveyed that it is a discussion that is taking place within the EU and that it will be discussed at the next Council of Foreign Ministers, avoiding clarifying whether Spain is favorable . In addition, he has indicated that the possibility of establishing a new package of sanctions aimed at the organizers of the referendums in the Ukrainian areas occupied by pro-Russians will also be discussed at that meeting.

In this regard, he has stated that the aforementioned referendums are "illegal, they do not have guarantees and they will not have any recognition by Spain or the rest of the EU countries". Moreover, he has stressed that they already have "wide condemnation" at the international level and what they show is the military defeat that Russian President Vladimir Putin is suffering on the ground.

Regarding the level of credibility that Putin's nuclear threats have, Albares has argued that "there is no real indication" that Russia is proposing something other than a conventional escalation and that therefore there is no need to "unnecessarily distress" the Spanish.

"There is no way to win a nuclear war, it is impossible," he added, while describing the use of this type of weapon as "absurd" and "irrational" because there is a consensus in the international community to move towards non-use and because Russia is also a member of the United Nations Security Council, which is the body that must guarantee peace and security.

In addition, regarding the protests in Russia after the new recruitment of troops, about whether they can have any influence on Putin, Albares has stated that it is "difficult" to know and that it is necessary to observe how the situation evolves but that they denote that the feeling Europe's rejection of the war "is shared by many people in Russia".

Along the same lines, he has expressed that Europe has nothing against Russian citizens and that he is aware that many people do not want this war and oppose it since it is above all "the war of one man", he reiterated.

At this point the minister has charged against the PP and has accused him of "absurd populism" for having criticized his meeting with the head of the fight against terrorism at the UN, Vladimir Voronkov, a Russian national. "Last week I heard a representative of the PP who from Congress made an obscene amalgamation and said that I was going to meet with a Russian representative to whitewash Putin," he complained in reference to the 'popular' deputy Pablo Hispán.

Albares has clarified that he was the assistant secretary of the United Nations in the fight against terrorism and that he was going to sign that one of the headquarters of this organization would come to Spain. "This absurd populism leads to nothing," he pointed out.

Finally, regarding a possible cut in the energy supply in Europe, Albres insisted that the situation in Spain is better than that of other European partners due to regasification capacity and has once again requested that the gas interconnection with the rest of the continent either through France with the Midcat gas pipeline, which Paris opposes, or through the Barcelona Livorno route, through Italy.

He has asked to be aware that countries like Germany that received a lot of Russian gas are now counting on less volume, but he has made it clear that both Spain and Europe have "a plan prepared" for any possible scenario.