Madrid, Feb 7: The notion of war in Europe over Ukraine should not be entertained even as a hypothesis and every effort should be made to avoid such a scenario, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Monday.
“Every effort undertaken by Spain, every effort undertaken by the EU, by NATO allies, are aimed in the opposite direction — to make inevitable peace, dialogue, diplomacy, détente … A war in Europe would be a giant step backward. This is why it should not be considered even as a hypothesis,” Albares said at a briefing in Madrid.
The minister called for de-escalation on the Ukrainian border, urging negotiations between Russia and EU, NATO countries. Albares went on to state that all members of the alliance want to see the conflict resolved peacefully. The precarious situation around Ukraine has worsened over the past several months after Russia was accused of building up troops near the Ukrainian border and allegedly preparing for an invasion.
Moscow has denied the accusations, pointing to NATO’s military activity near Russian borders, which it deems a threat to its national security.
