Robles urges the parties to support the Government's energy decree in the face of the "extremely harsh" winter that is expected

He calls on the opposition to stop "minor debates" and "put their shoulders to the wheel"

MADRID, 24 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, has asked this Wednesday "all" political parties to be "aware" of the "durist" winter that is coming in terms of energy if Russia uses gas cuts as a weapon of war, so who has urged them to support the Government's energy saving decree tomorrow in the Congress of Deputies.

In statements to RNE, collected by Europa Press, the Defense Minister has indicated that she does not conceive that the energy decree declines, when asked what support the Government will receive if for now the PP remains 'no' and while investiture partners such as Esquerra Republica and Bildu have not yet revealed their vote.

"I want to believe that the political forces, all of them, are going to rise to the occasion, the war, the suffering and what is a commitment to the European Union," he assured.

For Robles, "all political leaders," including the government, have the "obligation" to do their part because Russian President Vladimir Putin "cannot win this battle." "No one thought of this scenario of death and tragedy, but it is the scenario we have and we have to prepare for it," he stressed.

The Defense Minister has insisted that Putin is going to use his position as a gas exporter as a "very clear weapon of war". "Things are not as we would like them to be, they are as they are", she has sentenced.

For this reason, Robles has criticized that from the opposition there are "such minor debates" about whether some measures are good and others are not, something that "is incredible".

"We are going to have a hard winter, there is going to be a lot of suffering" not only in Ukraine and "we all have to pitch in" as it was done, the minister recalled, during the worst of the pandemic and with the La Palma volcano, or how it is being done this summer in the fight against fires.

Robles has mentioned that the younger generations have had until this year, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the privilege of not having lived closely a war like the "terrible" ones that took place in the 20th century. "Now it's up to us" to know how to act, he has claimed.

Asked what Spaniards should prepare for this winter, the minister said that "everything must be prevented" and especially in a context of supply cuts, gas and price increases with a "person like Putin" in front.

"I wish that weren't the case, but in any policy there must always be a part of prevention," emphasized Robles, who recalled that restrictions have been requested from Europe to "all countries", reducing Spain's cut in energy spending to 7 percent. "We are Europeans and we must comply as the responsible country that we are," he has demanded.