Mariano Rajoy highlights common diagnosis of NATO regarding Jihadi threat

NATO, Newport (United KIngdom)

In his appearance before the media following the meeting of NATO members held in Newport (United Kingdom), Mariano Rajoy recalled that Spain has been present for the last 12 years in Afghanistan, alongside its allies, demonstrating "our determination to combat, on a common front, international terrorism and global threats", and stressed that it will continue to support the Afghan armed forces so that they can take on full responsibility of security in their own country.

Integrity in Ukraine

As regards the situation in Ukraine, the President of the Government reiterated Spain's position, based on "full respect for the territorial integrity, unity and Ukrainian sovereignty". Moreover, he maintained that the solution to the crisis is not military, but political, and hence he assessed the ceasefire agreed between the parties as positive. Mariano Rajoy conveyed this to the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, who he had met within the framework of the Summit.

Pool MoncloaMariano Rajoy referred to NATO's commitments to the countries concerned by the risks that instability in Ukraine might suppose for security in the short and medium term. He also referred to his support for NATO's plan to rely on "a new rapid response force capable of deployment within just a few days".

"More east does not mean less south"

The new challenges facing international security were a central theme of the summit. "We are aware of the seriousness of the situation in Ukraine, but we cannot stand by and watch the extremist violence in the Middle East, the impotence of the State authority in Libya or the serious terrorist risks in the Sahel, a southern flank whose instability has direct consequences for the security of our allies and which particularly affects our country" explained Mariano Rajoy. "More east does not mean less south and this is very important for Spain".

Pool MoncloaThe President of the Government drew attention to the fact that the terrorism practised by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq has surpassed its present limits. In this regard, he commented on the "agreement in the diagnosis" that took place at the summit, "We share the vision that we are facing a very serious threat to regional stability, which also affects our security and that of each country".

A study will now be undertaken of what NATO and each Member State will do in light of this risk, in areas such as intelligence services, humanitarian aid and logistics, and hence it is unwise to "get ahead of ourselves", commented Mariano Rajoy, who also underlined that Spain will have "solidarity" with its allies.

Spain's international responsibilities

According to Mariano Rajoy, the NATO Summit also proved useful in renewing "the transatlantic ties that form the basis of stability provided by NATO since its inception". The President of the Government recalled the contribution that the Spanish armed forces have made in various conflict zones of NATO, European Union and United Nations operations, and stressed that Spain "will continue to meet its international responsibilities because each one of them may affect the security of our country and that of our partners".