Top Spanish diplomat condemns Gaza power cuts, calls for 'predictable' EU funding for Kyiv

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The Spanish foreign minister on Monday condemned the Israeli power cut, which caused the main water plant in the besieged Gaza Strip to stop operation, and also stressed the need for "predictable and sustainable" EU funding for Ukraine amid the ongoing Moscow-Kyiv war.

"Of course, we condemn all power cuts. They are contrary to international law, and the United Nations has expressed itself in this way on many occasions," Jose Manuel Albares said in his doorstep remarks ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

Emphasizing Spain’s support for the Arab League's reconstruction plan for Gaza, Albares called for unhindered humanitarian aid to Gaza.

"We want humanitarian aid to continue to be able to enter as it has been until now, without any restrictions, and to help restore some normal life for the Gazans, who are the ones who should be living in Gaza, and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state," he said.

The minister highlighted Spain’s participation in the upcoming UN conference on Palestine in June, where the country will continue to advocate for a two-state solution.

"Spain will continue to promote, as it has done so far, this global alliance for the two-state solution, and we will be an active participant, as must the European Union," he said.

- Need of 'predictable, sustainable funding' for Ukraine

Albares also stressed the need for the EU to ensure "predictable and sustainable" funding for Ukraine as it continues to resist the Russian aggression.

"Ukraine must continue to have the unconditional support of the European Union, as it has had until now," he said.

Spain has pledged €1 billion ($1.08 billion) in financial assistance for Ukraine this year, and Albares urged similar commitments across the bloc.

"We will discuss the need for all Europeans to be united in action to ensure that the just and lasting peace we have been seeking for more than three years arrives in Ukraine as soon as possible," he said.

He also underscored the importance of compelling Russia to accept the "ceasefire that (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy has put on the table," and said such acceptance should come "without conditions" for a just and lasting peace.

- $10.8M for Syrian population

Discussing Syria, the foreign minister said he will announce a new humanitarian aid package worth nearly €10 million ($10.8 million) to support the Syrian population.

"We want humanitarian aid to reach the Syrian population. Today, I'm going to announce a new package of almost 10 million euros in humanitarian aid to go directly to the needs of the Syrian population," Albares said.

He concluded his remarks by addressing EU-US relations, stressing the significance of maintaining strong transatlantic ties while also defending European interests.

"We all want to have a mutually beneficial relationship in terms of trade and Euro-Atlantic security, as we Europeans have had for decades," he said. "But of course, we also want to do it from our values, also from the defense of our interests and from the defense of the single market of our producers, our businessmen, our workers, our farmers."