Paris, 20 March 2022

In a letter to Spanish Foreign Minister, José Maria Albares, Wiesenthal Centre Director for International Relations, Dr Shimon Samuels, commended Madrid for its “sensitivity to the horrors in Ukraine and your intention to see Vladimir Putin face the International Criminal Court for ‘Crimes Against Humanity’.”

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has agreed to “an increase in the military budget due to the threat of Russia in Eastern and Central Europe.”

These steps can but make one think of the Spanish agony at Hitler and Mussolini’s intervention in the 1936-1939 Civil War.

What seems mysterious is the criticism by your coalition partner, Unidos Podemos, unless it’s related to its reportedly close association with Iran. This could surely not be construed with the Moscow-Tehran connection?

“In the meantime, kudos to Madrid for its anti-tank supplies to Kiev and its support to the Ukrainian people,” concluded Samuels.