Talking Europe meets one of Spain’s most seasoned diplomats, and a close confidant of the Spanish prime minister. José Manuel Albares is Spain’s foreign minister, and a former ambassador to France. We discuss the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, war in the Middle East, Ukraine, the Mercosur free trade agreement – which Spain strongly champions – and migration.

Asked about the toppling of the Assad regime, Albares says: “It's always good news when dictatorships fall, but we have to be very cautious about what is next. When a dictatorship falls, that doesn't mean that democracy appears the next day. For me, there are three things that are essential. First, this military movement must be transformed into a political movement as soon as possible. We don't want the military movement deciding the future of Syria. The second thing is that Syrian society is a pluralistic society, so the future Syria must include everyone, whatever their religion or wherever they come from. And the third thing is that we must preserve the territorial integrity of Syria. We don't want parts of Syria to be in the hands of different groups. Syria must be a source of stability, and not adding more instability to a Middle East that already has too much of that.”

We continued discussing the Middle East, and Spain’s recognition of the state of Palestine.

“We are already 145 countries, the majority of the international community, that have recognised the state of Palestine, as well as 11 European Union countries,” Albares says. “I think this is a matter of justice for the Palestinian people. I don't see why Palestinians must be condemned to be eternally a refugee people. The two-state solution also takes into consideration the legitimate security concerns of the Israeli people. We know that is the only solution that will bring peace, stability and prosperity definitively to the Middle East. That's why we are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the implementation of the two-state solution.”

On Donald Trump’s return to power and what that might mean for Ukraine, Albares says, “only the Ukrainian government is entitled to talk on behalf of Ukraine and what they want to do, or not to do, in the future. So nothing should be done about Ukraine without Ukraine. I would also say: nothing about Ukraine without the European Union, because the European Union has been helping Ukraine since the very beginning. And we are going to do that for as long as it takes. So, for all those reasons, we must back President Zelensky’s peace plan.”

Asked about the Mercosur (EU-Latin America) free trade agreement, which is fiercely opposed by France in its current form, Albares opines that “it would be a very serious mistake” not to move forward with the deal. “Firstly, because Mercosur is ready to move ahead, and the majority of European Union countries is in favour. This is going to create the largest market in the world, of 700 million people, with benefits for the European economy. In this time of war in Ukraine and war in the Middle East, we in Europe really need partners. This is not only a trade deal for Latin America; it's also a strong signal of the political engagement that the Europeans will want to have with Latin America.”

Programme prepared by Isabelle Romero, Perrine Desplats and Oihana Almandoz

‘The future of Syria must include everyone’, Spanish FM Albares says

Talking Europe