The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, took part on Friday 22 May in the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting held in Helsingborg, Sweden. This is the last meeting of the Alliance’s Foreign ministers before the crucial summit in Ankara in July.
During the two-day meeting, which was also attended by Ukrainian Minister Andrii Sybiha, the main issues on the Organisation’s agenda were addressed, such as the war in Ukraine, relations with partners in the Southern Neighbourhood, and the need to strengthen cohesion among NATO partners.
The minister emphasised that “at a time of unprecedented international crisis due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, the need to strengthen cohesion among allies is greater than ever. As Spain has been arguing, to achieve this we need to take decisive steps to make Europe stronger”.
The situation in the Southern Neighbourhood was also discussed, with particular attention paid to the instability in the Middle East, through the Alliance’s progress report on the Action Plan for this region. A call was also made to “reopen the Strait of Hormuz in accordance with international law”.
The Minister also held meetings with his counterparts from Canada, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Turkey, during which they discussed issues on the bilateral and international agenda such as multilateralism, collective security and cooperation in the security and defence industry.
Spain’s contribution to NATO
Albares highlighted Spain’s firm commitment to deterrence and defence, crisis management and cooperative security, reiterating that Spain will fulfil its capabilities commitments to the Alliance.
He highlighted the high level of Spain’s contributions to collective security, with the deployment of the Armed Forces from the Baltic to Turkey and the assumption of command of NATO’s training and assistance mission in Iraq.
Regarding the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Spain was the eighth largest contributor of military aid among the Allies in 2025. The minister conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart Spain’s commitment to supporting Ukraine, adding that the Allies’ support must be “sustained, predictable and sufficient”.
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