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UKRAINE

Spain to reopen embassy in Kyiv, prime minister says

Spain will reopen its embassy in Kyiv "shortly," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, the latest country to return its diplomats to the Ukrainian capital after the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Spain to reopen embassy in Kyiv, prime minister says
Spain's prime minister said the embassy in Kyiv would reopen "in the coming days". (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

The country’s diplomatic delegation was evacuated from the Ukrainian capital to Poland shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.

“We will reopen the Spanish embassy in Kyiv in Ukraine shortly, in the coming days, as another show of the commitment of the Spanish government, of Spanish society, with the people of Ukraine,” Sanchez said during an interview with private television Antena 3.

Spain is providing support to Ukraine through military equipment, humanitarian aid and by welcoming Ukrainian refugees.

Turkey has moved its embassy in Ukraine back to Kyiv after relocating it to Chernivtsi near the Romanian border.

READ ALSO: Spanish village changes its name to Ukraine

France announced last week that its embassy would return to Kyiv from the western city of Lviv.

Russian diplomats expelled

Earlier this month, Spain had expelled 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

“The unbearable images we have seen of the massacre of civilians in the town of Bucha after the withdrawal of the Russian army deeply outrage us,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said in a reference to a town outside Kyiv.

The Russian diplomats and staff “represent a threat to the interest of the country” and they will be expelled “immediately”, he told a news conference following a weekly cabinet meeting.

“We are talking about a group of around 25 people, we are completing the list,” he said.

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UKRAINE

Spain against deploying EU troops to Ukraine

Spain on Tuesday said it was against any deployment of European troops in Ukraine after France's Emmanuel Macron refused to rule out sending Western soldiers.

Spain against deploying EU troops to Ukraine

“As to whether we are in favour of deploying European troops to Ukraine, we’ve already made our position clear and we do not agree,” said government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría.

“We must concentrate on the most urgent thing, which is to speed up the delivery of (military) equipment” to Kyiv, she said, saying “unity” was Europe’s “most effective weapon” against Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

Macron triggered a shockwave late on Monday by refusing to rule out the dispatch of Western ground troops to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

“There is no consensus today to send ground troops… but nothing should be excluded. We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Russia cannot win this war,” he said.

He refused to say more about France’s position, citing the need for “strategic ambiguity” but saying the issue was mentioned among the options”.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was quoted as saying some EU and NATO members were weighing the option.

“Many people who say ‘never, ever’ today were the same people who said ‘never tanks, never planes, never long-range missiles’ two years ago” when Russia invaded, said Macron. “Let us have the humility to note that we have often been six to twelve months late.”

Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also rejected the idea of European or NATO countries sending troops to Ukraine.

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