MADRID, December 19. /TASS/. The Spanish authorities are expanding supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine under the pretext of allegedly protecting its values, Russian Ambassador to Madrid Yury Klimenko told a TASS correspondent.

"The position of Madrid and, in my opinion, the entire Spanish people on the Middle East settlement is based on the need to correct the historical injustice to the Palestinians, who have been illegally deprived of their own state for dozens of years," the diplomat pointed out. "A vivid manifestation of this sympathy was the demand by a number of politicians, public figures and many Spanish citizens to prohibit the entry into local ports of ships with American weapons for Israel," he recalled.

The ambassador welcomed both the embargo imposed by Spain already after October 7, 2023 on arms shipments to the Middle East conflict zone, and the words of the Spanish prime minister to the international community with a call to follow the example of his country. "However, double standards reign in the 'rules-based world order', and Madrid is expanding the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine under the pretext of protecting European values," Klimenko emphasized. "Apparently, this is the main principle of the EU: the situational instigation of conflicts for its own benefit," the diplomat underscored.

Compared to many European countries, Madrid's position on Israel is quite tough due to the situation in the Middle East. Among other things, the Spanish authorities assured that they do not sell weapons to Israel after the escalation of the situation in the region.

At the same time, in May, Vladimir Zelensky signed a security agreement with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. According to the head of the Spanish government, Madrid promised to allocate one billion euros in military aid to Kiev in 2024.