Sánchez: "The U.S. Veto Power in the UN should be abolished"

In an interview with elDiario, Pedro Sánchez spoke about the consistency of his foreign policy and criticized Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

“When we said ‘no to war,’ a wave of pride in being Spanish emerged, not only within our country but also in many societies around the planet,” the Spanish prime minister said.

In his view, the response to the “reactionary wave in Spain, Europe, and the world” is the responsibility of the progressive coalition government.

Position on the war in Iran

Asked whether he is concerned about retaliation from U.S. President Donald Trump against Spain, Sánchez answered no.

Spain’s position has been consistent throughout all the wars we have experienced in the past five years: Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, the one in Gaza… Defending international law is a consistent stance of the Spanish government.

Secondly, we belong to the European Union, and the European Commission has been very clear on this matter. And finally, I believe coercion is not the way forward. Being an ally of the United States does not mean agreeing with everything.

Sánchez says there was no common position within the European Union as there was in the case of Ukraine, but that Spain has always maintained the same stance.

“It is a position of consistency that has connected not only with some European governments, which have changed their stance in recent days, but also with a large part of European society and public opinion, which is against a war that will bring nothing good and that takes us back to 2003, when the war in Iraq took place.”

Middle East

“There will be political projects that support war in Iran, but I think they have learned nothing and continue to make mistakes in everything,” he said. Addressing the opposition, which accuses him of using his “no to war” stance as a pre-election tactic, Sánchez reminded them that Spain did not start the war.

“It was a war unilaterally launched by two nations. Moreover, we are consistent with the foreign policy we have pursued during nearly eight years in power. We will not resolve the instability in the Middle East through such blatant illegality. It is difficult to predict how long the war could last,” Sánchez said.

“Yesterday we heard the President of the United States say that not much remains of the war. Now that the opposition is also proposing socioeconomic measures to mitigate its impact, I think the least burdensome measure—and the one that saves the most lives—is ‘no to war.’ Let this war end as soon as possible.”

Criticism of von der Leyen

Asked about a statement by Ursula von der Leyen that Europe needs a more realistic foreign policy and cannot rely on a rules-based system, Sánchez said Spain can agree with some elements of her speech, such as trade policy, but that he feels “much more comfortable with the approach presented by the President of the Council, António Costa.”

“Yesterday’s world is a world without rules. The dilemma is not the old order versus a new order, but international order versus international disorder, which once led us to two world wars. The world is changing, but the values and principles of the European Union should not change,” he said.

He confirmed that von der Leyen did not call him before her speech, but that he spoke with Costa on Monday.

Sánchez also advocates abolishing veto power in the United Nations.

Savet bezbednosti UN Adam Gray / Getty images / Profimedia