Sánchez will explain to Biden the concept of “open strategic autonomy,” the central policy of his next European term
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
MADRID (Portal) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will urge the United States to give more consideration to the views of nonNATO countries like Brazil and China on the war in Ukraine when he meets with President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday, a Spanish diplomatic source said.
Madrid agrees with Washington on the illegality of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the need to arm Kiev’s armed forces, but positions itself as a mediator given its close ties with Latin American countries and more conciliatory ties with Beijing.
Sánchez visited Beijing in March and received President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Madrid last month.
China is an ally of Russia and has defended an alternative peace plan to that supported by NATO allies.
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Lula insists on a negotiated way out of the conflict and calls for western countries to stop arms supplies to Ukraine to prevent the clashes from prolonging.
The Spanish leader will convey Beijing’s and Brasilia’s differing views to Biden and will propose giving more weight to the views of nonNATO members who are also affected by the war, the source said.
The first meeting of the two allies at the White House comes just weeks before Sanchez takes over as President of the Council of the European Union for the second half of the year.
Sánchez will explain to Biden the concept of “open strategic autonomy,” the central policy of his next European term, which a second government source says is not aimed at deviating toward protectionism, but rather aims to reduce Europe’s “vulnerabilities.”