Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L) address a joint press conference following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE
July 1 (UPI) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez voiced support for the creation of a Ukraine-NATO Defense Council on Saturday during a meeting in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The two leaders expressed their agreement on the topic of the new council — which is being set up to provide more aid to Ukraine until it can become a full NATO member — in a joint declaration.
Ukraine, which is not a member of the NATO alliance or the European Union, has applied to become a member of both.
The war-torn nation has been granted the status of candidate for accession into the EU but its application for NATO membership has remained unanswered because becoming a member of the alliance would require a unanimous vote from its members and could mean open war with Russia.
The creation of a Ukraine-NATO Council would give Ukraine the ability to call for meetings with NATO officials and give quicker updates from the battlefield, officials told Euractiv.
Other possible cooperation could include more intelligence sharing and conducting joint military exercises.
Sánchez made his comments as his country took over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Council, a sign that other NATO members who are also in the EU could support admitting Ukraine into both blocs.
“We are approaching the NATO summit in Vilnius, which will be a continuation of the commitments we made last year in Madrid,” Sánchez said in a speech to Ukraine’s parliament Saturday, official media reported.
Sánchez said Spain supports the “strengthening of Ukraine’s political participation through the creation of a NATO-Ukraine Council, where Ukraine will no longer be an invited party, but a full member.”
“We are also in favor of strengthening practical cooperation, continuing the adaptation of your defense sector to NATO standards,” Sánchez said, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
Sánchez added that European countries “cannot rely on the promises made after the Cold War anymore” and said that Spain faced the process for joining the EU “not long ago.”
“To become a member state requires change, reforms and sacrifices,” Sánchez said, stating that “no one deserves it more than Ukraine.”
The European Council said in a statement that Sánchez’s visit Saturday marked his third since Russian troops invaded in February 2022.
Further details about the Ukraine-NATO Defense Council are expected to be announced at the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last month.
NATO is also expecting to welcome Sweden into the alliance soon, despite tensions with alliance member Turkey.