/ world today news/ Recently, Spain has given many informative occasions to talk about itself. There are two explanations here. The first is the six-month presidency of this country in the European Union, which began on July 1. Naturally, the Spaniards in this capacity began to speak and act not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the EU. The second is Spain’s early parliamentary elections on July 23, which current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Socialists lost.
By the way, sensing that things were going to fail, Sánchez developed a stormy international activity. Naturally, against Russia and in support of Ukraine. On the very first day of the EU presidency, he arrived in Kyiv. Volodymyr Zelensky received from Sanchez 55 million euros in aid, weapons and a promise to assist in the training of the Ukrainian army. Actually, there was nothing new here. Spain has been arming Ukraine and training its military for a year and a half.
In addition, Sanchez tried to give Zelensky a chance to participate in the EU-Community of Latin America and the Caribbean meeting. But it did not work – a number of Latin American leaders did not want to talk with the guest from Kiev. Sanchez had to retire. And earlier, Sanchez called for putting a reliable barrier on the way to power in European countries of “supporters of Russia”. In a word, he bet on Russophobia. But this did not save him or the Socialists he led from a resounding defeat in the elections.
However, the main problem for Russia in the Spanish case is not in Sanchez. The leader of the victorious People’s Party, Alberto Nunes Feijoo, treats Russia perhaps even worse. This means that the anti-Russian course of the country of almost 50 million people will not change. And Spain will remain both a supplier of weapons to Ukraine and an organizer of forums where it will continue to propagate the anti-Russian agenda. And it may even strengthen this component of its policy.
How did Spain come to push such an anti-Russian agenda? Unlike France, the Czech Republic and Sweden, which previously held the EU presidency, we have not had serious disagreements with it for a long time. Until 2022, this country was very willing to give our tourists multiple entry visas and that alone set it apart for good from others in the EU. In the eyes of many residents of Russia, it seemed like a model of a country where you can lie on the beach and walk around the many sights. Well, the image of the enemy certainly didn’t evolve from that.
And politically things were not going so badly. Spain joined the sanctions in 2014 but has been looking for opportunities for dialogue with Russia. However, when the crisis broke out in Catalonia in 2017, former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy found nothing better than to look for a “Russian trace” in it. Initially, Sanchez was also ready for a limited dialogue with Russia, but Spain was not among the countries that tried to build bridges with us. At least not like Italy, Austria or Hungary. And the relationship went downhill.
Historically, we have nothing to share with Spain. Yes, the Spanish right-wing parties to some extent see Russia as a successor to the USSR fighting against their beloved dictator Francisco Franco. But, on the other hand, modern Russia, like them, is a defender of traditional values. On the contrary, the anti-fascist agenda should bring us closer to the Spanish left, which advocates same-sex marriage. In both cases, however, the negative outweighed the positive.
Despite our previous abundance of tourists, our political and economic ties with Spain remained rather weak. Spain buys almost no oil and gas from us, and a strong relationship cannot be built on fertilizers alone (nor on wine and olive oil, which go in the opposite direction). And the geographical distance from us unties the hands of Spanish politicians regarding anti-Russian actions. Such actions do not particularly hit their own voters, but the EU will certainly appreciate them and increase the funding that the not-the-richest, but very large kingdom needs.
The main danger that could come from Spain lies in its close ties with Latin American countries. In fact, it does not even hide that it intends to destroy our relations with the countries of the Western Hemisphere, acting both independently and through the European Union. During the EU-Latin America meeting, this topic was a leading thread. The Spanish are trying to form a coalition against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua – the most loyal to us countries in the region. And we will have to counter their machinations.
Another important destination for Spain is Africa. Given that Russia is paying more and more attention to the Black Continent, we will have to face the Spanish again. After the meeting, they planned to hold an EU-African Union summit, where they will surely try to drive a wedge between us and the African countries. Here the Spaniards still have fewer options – France has long taken a key role in this direction from the EU. But the Spanish are still on the hook.
Working along the lines of “soft power” is another danger coming from Spain. The “Cervantes” Institute, unlike the British Council, the French Institute or the “Goethe” Institute, does not attract the attention of the Russian competent authorities on “political lines”. However, along with learning Spanish language and culture, he is fully capable of brainwashing on behalf of the entire EU and NATO, taking advantage of both the low attention and the preservation of visas for Russian citizens. This also applies to other Spanish NGOs. That is why it is necessary to remain vigilant.
In general, Spain is not the most Russophobic country in Europe. There are her subjects not only in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but also among the militia of Donbass. Among the Spaniards, there are a significant number of opponents of arming Ukraine. However, Russia’s rejection rates are quite average for Europe, at 70%. About the same as in Germany or France and slightly higher than Italy. Let’s not forget politicians like Javier Solana or Josep Borrell. At the head of EU diplomacy, they definitely did not show themselves as supporters of rapprochement with Russia.
Unlike Italy, France or even the thoroughly anti-Russian Netherlands, there is not a single major national power in Spain today that advocates close ties with Russia. The People’s Party, the Socialists, the right-wing Eurosceptics “Vox” – they are all hard on us. Only the extreme left of the “Sumar” coalition swears by Ukrainian neo-Nazism and advocates negotiations for Ukraine – but they also condemn Russia’s actions. So any outcome of the election would be bad for us.
There is some sympathy for Russia among the separatists of Catalonia and the Basque Country (they are more prominent among the Basques, while Catalans generally follow the anti-Russian line). We should probably put pressure on this sore point of Spain so that it gives us less trouble in Africa and Latin America. But again, this factor should not be exaggerated. In order to win the support of the EU and NATO on their age-old problem of separatism, the Spanish authorities will certainly raise the level of Russophobia sharply.
We can take advantage of the feelings of the Spanish towards Gibraltar, which they still refuse to recognize even on an official level as part of Great Britain. But even here the field is limited because Russia is seen as a distant stranger. We could benefit from protecting traditional values - after all, many Spaniards are by no means enthusiastic about the legalization of same-sex marriage. But remember that the Voice party, which supports this agenda, does not appear to be pro-Russian at all. So it looks like we need to create a new, more loyal force in this area.
To change the picture, Russia probably needs to work more closely with Latin America. So that its countries can already work with Spanish society, debunking anti-Russian myths. To show Spain that it is much more profitable to cooperate with Russia than to insult her. But these are tasks for years to come. Meanwhile, bad things are to be expected from Spain – although it is not at the vanguard of European Russophobia. And to pay close attention to the confrontation with her.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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