Spain to buy US weapons for Ukraine, says it is a reliable partner'

"Spain is joining the joint purchases of U.S. military equipment by NATO countries for shipment to Ukraine. The decision was confirmed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez upon arriving at the meeting of the European Council this Thursday in Brussels. This is a proposal that NATO launched a few weeks ago. I had the opportunity to speak with President Zelenskiy [] and I informed him that we were going to join this program, the Spanish leader stated in response to questions from the media."

"His response contained an implicit rebuttal of the reiterated criticisms and threats from U.S. President Donald Trump for not committing to spending 5% of GDP on the defense budget: Spain is a country committed to the Atlantic Alliance, Sanchez stressed. In the past week, Trump, both in response to questions from the press and on his own initiative, has criticized Spain on three occasions. Spain is not a team player, he lashed out this Wednesday at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. The American president is deeply bothered by the Spanish government's resistance to spend the equivalent of 5% of GDP on defense, a commitment reached by NATO partners at the last summit in June in The Hague. At that meeting, Spain signed the agreement reached by the Allies, but first obtained a written commitment from Rutte to try to meet its targets with 2.1% spending, a figure that Spain considers sufficient to cover all its NATO obligations."

Spain will join the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program coordinated by NATO and participate in joint purchases of U.S. military equipment destined for Ukraine. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the decision upon arrival at the European Council and said he informed President Zelenskiy of the move. Spain emphasized continued commitment to the Atlantic Alliance while defending a national defense spending target of 2.1% of GDP as sufficient to meet NATO obligations. U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Spain for not committing to the 5% GDP defense target agreed by NATO allies, calling Spain "not a team player." Spain maintains it is fulfilling its obligations.

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