He Spanish government indicated this Sunday that he will abstain from participating in the military coalition to fight Yemen’s Houthi rebels and protect international maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
“Spain will not participate” in the European Union mission, confirmed a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, contacted by AFP.
After a few last days of doubts and discomfort in the Spanish executive, made up of the Socialist Party and the left-wing Sumar coalition, the Ministry of Defense had assured on Saturday night that opposed an expansion of the European operation Atalantawhich has been fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean since 2008.
The Ministry of Defense recalled that until now Spain participated in the military operation Atalanta, through the Victoria ship.
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“The nature and objectives of the Atalanta Mission (…) have nothing to do with those intended to be achieved in the Red Sea,” stressed the department of Minister Margarita Robles.
For this reason, the socialist government Pedro Sanchez considers it “essential to create a new and specific” operation, “to which Spain is in no way opposed”, but will not participate in it.
The Spanish ministry did not detail the reasons why does not want to get involved in the operation in the Red Seaannounced on Monday by the United States.
Madrid announced that decision after a telephone conversation on Friday between Sánchez and the US president, Joe Biden.
Dubbed “Prosperity Guardian”, the operation in the Red Sea will be led by USA and aims end attacks by Houthi rebels (aligned with Iran) against vessels they consider “allies of Israel.”
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Those attacks affected navigation through the Red Sea and big maritime trade companies announced that they were stopping sailing through that strategic area.