Obama calls for stronger military ties with Spain to counter Russia
US President Barack Obama has called for deeper military ties with Spain, amid what he called a “challenging time” for Europe due to growing tensions with Russia and the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU).
The outgoing president, who is spending his last year in the White House, visited Naval Station Rota in southern Spain on Sunday, marking his first ever visit to the country.
“It’s a challenging time for all of our countries,” Obama told a crowd of US and Spanish soldiers at the coastal base, which hosts around 2,500 American military personnel.
“Russia’s aggression against the Ukraine threatens our vision for a Europe that is at peace,” he said.
The West accuses Russia of fueling a years-long conflict in eastern Ukraine, where the Ukrainian army is clamping down on pro-Russian forces. Russia denies the accusation.
“A vote in Britain has raised questions about the kind of Europe we are going to see in the years ahead,” Obama added, referring to the June 23 EU referendum, where 52 percent of British voters chose to leave the EU.
Obama said Spain was “central to our security,” and said Washington’s relationship with Madrid was not going to change under the rule of different Spanish political parties.
Spain has been without a government for more than half a year now, after different parties failed to win over majority support in December and June elections. The fragmented parliament has also failed to form a coalition government.
Obama called Spain one of Washington’s “main” allies and hoped that the country elects a stable government soon.
During his 24-hour visit, Obama met with Spain’s King Felipe VI and the heads of the country’s four major political parties.
The trip to Spain followed Obama’s visit to Poland, where he attended a NATO summit that revolved around countering Russia and dealing with the UK’s departure from the EU.
Currently, a rapid-reaction force of US Marines is based in Moron, Spain, while four US Navy ballistic missile destroyers have also been deployed to the country.
Equipped with the Aegis radar and SM-3 interceptor missiles, the warships form an integral part of Washington’s so-called European missile shield that went active in May and drew heavy criticism from Russia.
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