Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych - 26 October 2016: Russia withdraws warship refueling request in Spain

The Spanish government wanted to allow several Russian warships to refuel in Ceuta. There has been concern that the ships could take part in air strikes against Syria, where Russia has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad. In the face of NATO's criticism and expressed concerns among leading politicians, Spain was now forced to reconsider allowing Russia to refuel in Ceuta. Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian premier and liberal leader in the EU parliament, wrote on Twitter: “It is scandalous that Spain, a member of NATO and the EU, would allow the Russian fleet to refuel and receive technical assistance on Spanish territory”.

Last week, the 28 member states of the EU signed a draft statement concerning the attacks by Russia on civilians in Aleppo. In the past years, Russian ships already made stops in Spanish ports from time to time, depending on permission. Now, the Spanish foreign minister said in a statement: “The Russian embassy has just informed us that it is withdrawing the request for permission for stopovers for these ships and these stopovers have therefore been cancelled.”