Sánchez defends military support for Ukraine against criticism from Podemos

He argues that not doing so would not free Spain from the consequences of the war and that there is a "moral duty"

MADRID, 12 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has emphatically defended the support that is being given to Ukraine, also from a military point of view, stressing that not doing so would not free Spain from the consequences of the war, including inflation.

In his speech at the start of the State of the Nation Debate, he argued that those who question his providing military support to Ukraine are wrong, as are those who questioned the fact that health was put before the economy during the pandemic.

Without citing anyone in particular, despite the criticism that Podemos has been making regarding the delivery of military material to Ukraine and also the increase in defense spending, the president has maintained that all of them "forget that not participating in the war effort would not free us from the consequences of war.

On the contrary, he added, "it would isolate us from the countries with which we share interests and values, thus forcing us to weather them alone."

Do not support the countries of Eastern Europe that are threatened by Russia at the moment, such as Poland, Latvia or Lithuania, "when they are asking us for solidarity in deterring the aggressor, what legitimacy would we have to ask for solidarity when we need it", has raised, without mentioning any specific threat to Spain, although the Government has been warning of those coming from the south, in particular from the Sahel.

On the other hand, he has argued that "no one better than the Spanish" to understand what is happening in Ukraine "if we look back on our history." "Almost 90 years ago, the decision of the allies not to intervene in Spain condemned our country to almost four decades of delay, ostracism and fascism dictatorship", she pointed out.

"Today destiny gives us the opportunity not to repeat the mistake that others made with Spain and to be on the right side of history and that is where we are and where we will be", asserted the President of the Government, whose words have been received with a round of applause from them.

Likewise, it has made it clear that although the conflict in Ukraine is no longer the focus as it was at the beginning, "people like us" continue to die on the Ukrainian streets, who are fighting for their country but also for Europe and also to defend "our rights and for our security and our democracy.

"For this reason, the other European nations have a moral duty to fulfill", he stressed, defending that Spain is "a pacifist country" but it cannot be left out of what is happening in Ukraine and not provide support to this country, also in the military plan.