Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said that his country is a “reliable member” of NATO amid reports that the United States is considering trying to expel Spain from the alliance.
Sanchez maintains that Spain is a “reliable partner” that “honours its commitments” and therefore expressed his “absolute calm”.
“We don’t work with emails. We work with official documents and positions of the government, in this case the United States,” Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez said before a meeting of EU leaders in Cyprus.
So he commented on reports that the Pentagon is considering excluding Spain from NATO.
24 April Reuters, citing an anonymous US official, reported that the Pentagon outlined the option of excluding Spain in an email that looked at ways to punish NATO allies who avoided US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised NATO allies for refusing to enter the war, saying he considers it a betrayal.
Spain and the US share bases at Morona and Rota in the south, but Madrid said they would not be used for strikes on Iran. US airpower has since been moved to Germany.
Sanchez reacted to a reported US threat to expel Spain from NATO