The Embassy points out that the purpose of the call between two officers was not that and had been planned for weeks.
The United States continues trying to convince Spain to join the international operation in the Red Sea to combat the threat of the Houthi rebels against maritime navigation, but the Government remains firm that it will not participate in it although it is willing to support a eventual mission of this type within the framework of NATO or the EU.
The president of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, held a telephone conversation this Monday with the chief of the Defense Staff, Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, in which the situation in the Red Sea was one of the topics addressed, according to the statement published by the spokesman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Captain Jereal Dorsey.
“Spain is a faithful and loyal ally in NATO and I am grateful for the long-standing and strategic defense relations between our two countries,” Brown wrote in his message on Twitter to report the telephone contact.
The call, the first between the two since the appointment of the American officer last October, allowed them to discuss “cooperation in strategic security, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the security environment in Europe and the Middle East,” according to the spokesperson.
The department headed by Margarita Robles has confirmed the telephone conversation, limiting itself to pointing out that it served to highlight “the magnificent relations with Spain”, without clarifying the specific content of the call and whether the operation in the Red Sea was discussed. .
However, according to Dorsey, General Brown and Admiral López Calderón also discussed “ongoing illegal Houthi attacks on commercial vessels operating in international waters in the Red Sea.”
In this sense, the head of the American Joint Chiefs of Staff took the opportunity to convey to his Spanish interlocutor “the desire of the United States to work with all countries that share an interest in maintaining the principle of freedom of navigation and guaranteeing the safe passage of the world navigation”.
With this, Washington wanted to make the Government aware of its desire for Spain to finally join the countries that will be part of the so-called ‘Operation Guardian Protector’, although the Pentagon has not wanted to confirm to Europa Press whether there are specific efforts to for Spain to reverse its rejection.
In this sense, the US Embassy in Madrid has published a statement to make it clear that “the purpose of that call” between the two officers was not to address the situation in the Red Sea and has clarified that the conversation had been planned for several weeks.
“Due to the close partnership between the United States and Spain, this call was scheduled several weeks in advance as part of General Brown’s presentation with key allies and partners of the United States,” the Embassy explained, emphasizing that “Spain is an ally, “indispensable partner and friend” of Washington.
THE GOVERNMENT REAFFIRMS
Defense sources consulted by Europa Press have made it clear that there is no change in position and have referred to what Robles indicated a few days ago. The Minister of Defense maintained that the mission proposed by the United States “is not defined” at the moment.
“Spain has never been afraid to participate in any mission, but Spain precisely because it has rigor, because it has seriousness, because it has professionalism, what it wants is for the missions to be defined and for no country, whatever this country may be, to tell Spain has to do,” he stressed during a visit to Córdoba, thus referring to the fact that it was the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, who announced that Spain would participate without first having the Government.
The matter was also discussed during the phone call between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the US President, Joe Biden, on December 22, according to the note published by the White House, although Moncloa did not make reference to this issue. .
According to the US version, both addressed the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and “underscored the importance of ensuring that it does not spread in the region, including condemning ongoing attacks by the Houthis against commercial ships in the Red Sea.” “.
SPAIN REJECTS TO CONVERT ‘ATALANTA’
It should be remembered that this call, which served for Biden to congratulate Sánchez on his re-election, occurred just one day after it was learned that Spain had vetoed in the EU that ‘Operation Atalanta’ that fights against piracy against the Somalia’s coast could be converted to contain the Houthi threat in the Red Sea.
In this sense, in the press conference on December 27, Sánchez made it clear that Spain is not opposed to there being a mission in charge of ensuring the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, but rather to adapting ‘Atalanta’ to this task.
“We consider that Operation Atalanta does not have the characteristics nor is it of the nature of the operation required for the Red Sea,” said the president, emphasizing that the risk posed by the Houthis “is different” from that of the pirates and ” the nature of the challenge is different.” “One operation has nothing to do with another,” he stressed.
