SPANISH PRIME MINISTER RESPONDS TO TRUMP ON US REQUEST TO USE MILITARY BASES
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By: Muftau Fatimo
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday pushed back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of Madrid’s decision to deny U.S. aircraft access to its bases for operations against Iran.
“The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war,” he said in a televised address, a day after Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain.
“We will not be complicit in something that is harmful to the world and contrary to our values and interests, simply out of fear of retaliation,” he added.
“We reject this calamity,” Sánchez stated, emphasizing that his position is echoed by “numerous governments” and “millions of people across Europe, North America, and the Middle East who do not want further war or instability.”
Trump called Spain a “terrible” ally on Tuesday as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.
He also pointed to Sanchez’s refusal to join NATO allies in a pledge to boost defence spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by Trump, who has frequently argued that the United States shoulders too much of the alliance’s burden.
Sanchez’s leftist government has angered Washington with a series of other policies, including his staunch opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and the military operation to abduct and arrest President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela.
US forces operate from Spain’s Rota naval base and Morón air base. During the 2003 Iraq invasion, Spain, under then-conservative Prime Minister José María Aznar, strongly supported the United States.
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