Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez says Spain is ready to deploy peacekeeping forces to Palestine and Ukraine when conditions allow, reaffirming its pro-Palestinian stance.
MADRID: Spain is prepared to send troops to Palestine for peacekeeping “when the opportunity presents itself,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday.
He told a gathering of Spanish ambassadors that he would propose the deployment to parliament once the path to pacification becomes clear.
Sanchez also reaffirmed Spain’s willingness to deploy troops to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached, calling the current moment “critical” for achieving peace.
“If Spain has sent peacekeeping troops to many regions far from our country, how could we not send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, a European country?” he added.
The Spanish government recognised the State of Palestine in 2024.
It has been one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
Sanchez said Spain must actively participate in rebuilding hope in Palestine, calling the situation there “intolerable.”
At the end of last year, he met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Madrid to discuss the “dramatic situation” of Palestinians.
Russian President Vladimir Putin opposes having any foreign peacekeeping troops on Ukrainian soil.
