Albares reiterates to his partners the “clear” Spanish position regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas
The ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) that will be held this Monday in Barcelona will have a record presence of 27 ministers, among whom will not be that of Israel, whose Government announced that it would not attend since the meeting will essentially focus on the current conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, congratulated himself on the fact that the event will have the “largest participation of ministers in the history of the UfM” during the dinner that was held tonight in Barcelona. , as diplomatic sources have informed Europa Press, which was attended by 21 ministers last year.
The UfM, founded in 2008, brings together 43 countries from both shores of the Mediterranean. In addition to the 27 EU member states, there are 16 other Mediterranean countries – Albania, Algeria, Bosnia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, North Macedonia, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey and Libya –.
Israel already reported last week, before the controversy over the statements of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, during his visit to Israel, Palestine and Egypt and which led to the summoning of the Spanish ambassador by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, that its minister , Eli Cohen, would not travel to Barcelona.
Israeli diplomatic sources regretted that the agenda had been changed “without consultation”, from what theoretically should be “a practical platform to promote cooperation between different countries for the benefit of all the peoples of the Mediterranean.” The changes “defeat the purpose of the UfM and risk transforming it into another international forum in which Arab countries criticize Israel.” “Therefore, Israel has no intention of participating in the meeting,” they concluded.
The meeting is chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, while Albares simply acts as host, although he will participate in the final press conference with both of them.
During the dinner offered to the attendees, the minister took the opportunity to reiterate before them the Government’s condemnation of the “indiscriminate killing of civilians” carried out by Hamas on October 7 and has once again demanded the “immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages.”
“Spain has been very clear since the beginning of the crisis asking for an immediate ceasefire, and demanding that Israel scrupulously respect International Humanitarian Law,” defended Albares, according to the aforementioned sources, in line with what Sánchez stated during his tour, emphasizing that “it is absolutely essential” that all civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, be protected.
Likewise, the minister has celebrated the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas for the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the increase in humanitarian aid, demanding that the latter be able to enter “in sufficient quantity to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the population of Loop”.
Finally, the minister insisted on the need to “materialize the two-state solution”, moving towards the recognition of the Palestinian State and recalled the proposal to hold an international peace conference “as soon as possible”, something that is supported by both the EU, such as the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
