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Spain is planning to re-open its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv ‘in a few days’, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a television interview on Monday.
Spain’s El Diario reported on Tuesday that Sánchez is also planning to visit Ukraine in the coming days to meet with President Zelensky. The proposed visit comes after several European leaders, including the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Layen, and the high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, visited Bucha and Kyiv at a time when the Russian offensive is focused on the east of Ukraine.
‘Spain is with Ukraine and we stand against Putin,’ Sánchez said on Antena 3 TV. ‘In a few days we are going to re-open the Spanish embassy in Kyiv as a sign, once again, of the commitment of the government of Spain, of Spanish society with the Ukrainian people,’ he said.
Other European nations, including France, Italy and Belgium among others, have already announced their intention to re-open their diplomatic missions in the Ukrainian capital.
Sánchez stressed the need for unity in action in the face of the war in Ukraine, because ‘any element of division weakens’ us all. He said that the conflict shaking Eastern Europe ‘is not between Russia and Ukraine, but between Vladimir Putin and the values that the European Union represents’.
The prime minister’s announcement regarding the embassy was later confirmed by Defence Minister Margarita Robles. She said that the embassy will be re-opened as soon as the government is in a position to guarantee security.
Spain closed its embassy in Kyiv and evacuated its diplomatic personnel on the morning of 25 February, in view of the advance of Russian troops on the Ukrainian capital.
On 7 April, Spain’s foreign minister announced that the country would be expelling 25 Russian diplomats in response to alleged war crimes by the Russian military in Ukraine.
España está con Ucrania. En pocos días reabriremos la embajada española en Kiev, como muestra de nuestro compromiso con el pueblo ucraniano. Esta es una guerra de Putin contra los valores que representa la UE. Por eso, la unidad es nuestra principal fortaleza. #PedroSánchezESp pic.twitter.com/kJB5zzrRY9
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) April 18, 2022
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