Spain will not participate in the operation in the Red Sea and proposes a specific mission

2023-12-23 22:59:43

Barcelona Spain refuses to participate in the American mission in the Red Sea and proposes a “new and specific one”. The move comes after the Spanish government broke away from the EU Council consensus and blocked European support for the American mission in the Red Sea. In a statement, the ministry led by Margarita Robles has assured that Spain has not vetoed any European Union mission in this area, although it blocked Europe’s decision to modify the mandate of the Atalanta naval operation to contribute to the mission launched by the United States. Atalanta is the mission that the EU has active against piracy in the Indian Ocean and in which Spain has an important weight.

The controversy began after the United States issued a statement saying that Operation Prosperity Guardian, designed to respond to attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on the area’s Red Sea trade routes, would involve Spain , apart from other countries. The Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, stepped in to ensure that the Spanish contribution was subject to the decisions of the EU and NATO. Now Defense insists on the position expressed on Tuesday by Robles not to intervene in this American operation. “Spain is and will always be a serious and reliable ally, committed to the EU, NATO and the UN […]. The commitment of Spain and its armed forces to peace is total and absolute,” the ministry underlines. Thus, it points out that any mission that aims to guarantee maritime security in the Red Sea “must be a specific mission with entity own in which the naval forces of the European countries that wish to participate and not a mere extension of the Atalanta operation”.

In this regard, Defensa recalls that this mission is against piracy in the Indian Ocean led by Spain and that the frigate Victoria she is the one who is acting in this mission. For this reason, he considers it “obvious” that “the nature and objectives of the Atalanta mission against piracy in the Indian Ocean have nothing to do with those that are intended to be achieved in the Red Sea”. “This is why Spain wants to preserve the Atalanta operation, with the current objectives, extension and scope, as it is noted that the fight against piracy in the Indic, as seen in recent days with the two ships hacked in a very short time, it requires maximum dedication,” he explains. For all of this, he defends as “essential” the creation of a “new and specific mission, with its own scope, means and objectives, agreed by the corresponding bodies of the EU”, to which Spain is not “opposed”.