NATO Secretary General meets with Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez at NATO Headquarters
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday (23 September 2020) and commended the Spanish people for their resilience during the COVID 19 crisis. Highlighting that Spain “has not stood alone” during the COVID 19 crisis, he said that NATO’s disaster relief centre coordinated assistance for Spain and that NATO Allies delivered medical supplies, helping to ease the burden on the Spanish healthcare system and save lives.
“I pay tribute to the Spanish armed forces who have supported civilian efforts during the pandemic. This proves once again the importance of keeping our militaries strong”, Mr. Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General thanked the Prime Minister for Spain’s continued commitment to NATO missions and operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as to the multinational battlegroup in Latvia, and to Baltic Air Policing.
Speaking about developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Mr. Stoltenberg updated Prime Minister Sánchez on his recent high-level discussions on the subject with Ankara and Athens.
The Secretary General said that he remains in close contact with both the Greek and Turkish leadership and welcomed Spain’s support for NATO’s de-confliction efforts.
Speaking about the NATO 2030 reflection process, Mr. Stoltenberg said that “this is about keeping our Alliance strong militarily, making it stronger politically, and making it more global” and stressed that a strong partnership with the European Union is an important part of it, “because it strengthens EU Allies, and it strengthens NATO”.
