The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Biden and Sánchez agree to expand the destroyers at the Rota base by 50%

2022-06-28T19:14:30.760Z


“Spain is an indispensable ally”, assures the president of the USA in La Moncloa. The text includes a commitment to collaborate in the face of the "challenges of irregular immigration in North Africa"


“Spain is an indispensable ally”.

Joe Biden has thus made it clear in La Moncloa, after his first formal interview with Pedro Sánchez since he became president of the United States, how the relationship between these two governments of a similar political nature is being strengthened within the framework of the NATO summit in Madrid, after years away, especially in the stage of Donald Trump, between 2017 and 2021. "You can count on Spain as a solid ally", the President of the Spanish Government has finished off Biden's words.

The one-hour appointment, much sought after by the Executive for a year and a half, has consolidated the image of Spain as a strategic ally of the US at a decisive moment, with the war in Ukraine still in full swing.

Both have had very harsh words for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and have sent messages of NATO reinforcement.

The meeting, according to sources from La Moncloa, took place in a climate of great closeness and Biden was very appreciative of Spain's position in the war in Ukraine.

“I want to thank you for your leadership, Pedro.

We are together with Ukraine giving it everything it needs to defend itself.

I thank you and the people of Spain for welcoming 140,000 Ukrainian refugees.

This reflects the spirit of the Spanish people and shows your leadership in times of crisis.

This makes us strong allies.

The United States and Spain are also working in Latin America to strengthen democracies and strengthen our immigration policies.

The joint statement reflects the great breadth of our cooperation.

Thank you, Pedro, for your friendship and for your great alliance”, Biden assured.

Joe Biden and Pedro Sánchez, before offering a press conference after their meeting at the Palacio de La Moncloa.E.

Vine (Europa Press)

In the final declaration, in addition to migration in Latin America, they also refer to Africa, precisely at a time when in Spain there is a strong controversy over the death of immigrants when they tried to jump the fence in Melilla last Friday.

"Spain and the United States also recognize the importance of permanent cooperation in response to the challenges of irregular immigration in North Africa," the text states.

In addition, Spain and the US undertake to "promote safe, orderly and regular immigration".

“Both countries intend to collaborate on a comprehensive approach to the management of migratory flows that guarantees fair and humane treatment of migrants.

The partners also plan to coordinate efforts to address the root causes of irregular immigration and work to strengthen legal pathways, with special emphasis on Latin American and Caribbean countries."

At the meeting, according to sources from La Moncloa, Biden was interested in the "circular immigration" projects of Spain and some African countries, with seasonal workers who return to their places of origin after finishing their work.

Sánchez and Biden have agreed to expand the US military presence in Spain, something that was of particular interest to the US. The US president has formally communicated his country's intention to increase the number of Arleigh Burke-class destroyers deployed from four to six at the Rota naval base (Cádiz).

The forecast is to also increase the number of sailors from 1,200 to 1,800.

Spain has accepted this proposal, and now the process will begin to do so formally, which will force the reform of the defense cooperation agreement with the United States, which dates from 1988 and is automatically extended from year to year.

The Council of Ministers will have to approve the decision and then it must be endorsed by Congress, so Sánchez will have to seek parliamentary support.

The joint declaration that both presidents have signed includes this political commitment, but, aware that everything will have to go through Parliament, Sánchez has said that hopefully this extension will be formalized "sooner than later" because this "will help the bilateral relationship" .

photo gallery

The arrival of world leaders at the NATO summit in Madrid, in images

The possibility of increasing the number of destroyers deployed in Rota from four to six has already been raised by the US Navy under the Donald Trump Administration, as a way of guaranteeing the permanent availability of four ships - there are usually two under repair or maintenance - and avoiding the long crossings of the Atlantic.

At that time, however, the formal request was not submitted and it was decided to replace the four ships that arrived in 2014 and 2015 (

UUS Donald Cook

,

USS Carney

and

USS Ross

and

USS Porter

) with more modern ones equipped with helicopters, which that it did not force to reform the agreement and request the approval of the Congress.

The first two were replaced by the

USS Arleigh Burke

and by the

USS Roosevelt,

but on the 18th a fifth was incorporated, the

USS Paul Ignatius

, which is the most modern missile launcher deployed by the United States in Europe, and an attack helicopter squadron was formed.

The destroyers deployed in Rota are part of NATO's anti-missile shield, but they also carry out unilateral missions for the Pentagon, have frequently patrolled the Black Sea and participated in punitive operations against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

In the joint statement released after the meeting, both countries are committed to "transatlantic cooperation to resolve trade, economic and technological differences", an implicit way of rejecting the unilateral imposition of sanctions and tariffs such as those still suffered by Spanish companies in the United States , some derived from the reactivation of the Helms Burton Act, which tightens the embargo on Cuba, by the Trump Administration.

La Moncloa attaches great importance to this joint statement because Spain and the US had not done anything similar since 2001, with José María Aznar in power, which shows the importance of this meeting in Madrid.

Biden has gone to La Moncloa accompanied by the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, and the National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan.

In addition to the President, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, the General Secretary for Economic Affairs, Manuel de la Rocha, and Emma Aparici, director of the Foreign Affairs department.

Biden landed at around three in the afternoon at the Torrejón de Ardoz base, where he was received by King Felipe VI, from Bavaria (Germany), where he participated in the G-7 meeting.

More information

The NATO summit in Madrid, live

Previously, in the morning, Sánchez and the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, visited the pavilion of the Trade Fair (Ifema) where this Wednesday and Thursday the summit in which the Atlantic Alliance will decide its path for the next decade.

"The purpose is clear," said the Spanish president.

“Transmit a message of unity on the part of the allies, of unity of the democracies that come together to defend freedom, democracy, political plurality, an international order based on rules, in the United Nations charter and the charter of Washington [on which NATO is based]”, in a clear reference to the contrast with Russia and other totalitarian countries.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia will be the focus of the event, in which more than 40 delegations from different countries participate.

Before the meeting this Tuesday in La Moncloa, Biden and Sánchez had only held fleeting conversations on the occasion of their coincidence at the NATO summit in Brussels, in June 2021, and at the G-20, last October in Rome.

In addition, they have had several telephone conversations, on the occasion of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, in August last year, and in recent days, regarding the Madrid summit.

Although La Moncloa made arrangements for Biden to receive Sánchez in Washington before going to Madrid, the White House alleged scheduling problems.

Joe Biden and Pedro Sánchez, this Tuesday at the Palacio de La Moncloa.Ballesteros (EFE)

The visit of the American president has been preceded by that of his wife, Jill Biden, who arrived on Sunday afternoon and this Monday visited, in the company of Queen Letizia, the headquarters of the Spanish Association Against Cancer, a disease in which combat is personally involved.

On Tuesday, both visited a reception center for Ukrainian refugees in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), hours before participating in the gala dinner that the King and Queen will offer at the Royal Palace to the more than 40 heads of state and government attending the top.

See the joint declaration of Spain and the United States.

If you cannot see the image correctly, please download the PDF document here.

Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-06-28

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.