King of Spain defends ties with US, but stresses it is based on ‘trust and dialogue’
Felipe VI says that the transatlantic link between Europe and North America ‘continues to be essential for global security and stability’
The Spanish monarch Felipe VI on Friday emphasized to representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Madrid that “Spain remains firmly committed to its strategic alliance” with the United States, and that the transatlantic link between Europe and North America “continues to be essential for global security and stability. Its weakening would have direct consequences for everyone’s security. Ours and that of all our partners and allies.”
However, the king also recalled that the relationship with Washington “has historically been built on the basis of trust and dialogue” and added that preserving this link “requires, more than ever before, greater adaptability and responsible pursuit of shared goals.”
The 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, which is being commemorated this year, is, in his opinion, a good opportunity to highlight Spain’s contribution to the birth of the most powerful country in the world and also to “reaffirm the desire to maintain, based on mutual respect, a constructive and forward-looking relationship.”
Without mentioning U.S. President Donald Trump, Felipe VI stressed that the world stage is undergoing “not just a transformation, but a real mutation,” in which “the reference frameworks of the international community are continually being questioned.”
He warned of the “disturbing spread of confrontation,” not only due to the prolongation of conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Sahel, but also due to the emergence of tensions “in Greenland and the Arctic region, which affects us all so much,” he added.
He also referred to Iran and Venezuela and to “all political prisoners who have yet to be released,” whom he referred to with this description for the first time.
Against this backdrop, he stressed that defending international law and the United Nations Charter, which was adopted 80 years ago, “is a moral and political imperative.” It is not, he said, “one option among many, but rather the best collective response to global challenges,” aware that its effectiveness requires not only defending it but also “making it evolve.”
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