Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Friday that “loyal cooperation” should prevail over “confrontation” in relations with the United States after tensions over Madrid’s opposition to Washington’s use of its bases against Iran.
Relations should take place “with respect, in a spirit of loyal cooperation and on an equal footing”, he added during a news conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro in the southern Spanish city of Huelva.
Sánchez again criticised the strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, calling them an “extraordinary mistake” and “not in accordance with international law”.
“Between allied countries, it is good to help when the other is right, but also to tell them when they are wrong or make a mistake, as is the case here,” the Socialist leader added.
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US President Donald Trump lashed out at Sánchez’s government on Tuesday, calling Spain a “terrible” ally and threatening to sever all trade with the country.
Sánchez responded the following day by doubling down on his opposition to the war and his refusal to let Washington use bases in southern Spain for warplanes to strike Iran.
Trump further criticised Spain in an interview with the New York Post on Thursday, calling it “a loser”.
Sánchez, one of a dwindling number of leftist leaders in Europe, had already angered Trump with other policy clashes.
He has refused to join NATO allies in a pledge to boost defence spending to five percent of GDP as demanded by Trump, and has fiercely criticised Israel’s war in Gaza.
Sánchez also blasted Washington’s military operation to abduct and arrest president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. He wrote an op-ed for The New York Times last month criticising Trump’s crackdown on migrants in the United States.
Despite the tension, Sánchez said Friday he had “immense respect for the US presidency and great admiration for American society”.
In contrast with Spain, Portugal has allowed Washington to use its Lajes base on the Azores Islands in the Atlantic during the Iran bombing campaign.
Montenegro said that while Portugal stood with the United States, “threats and accusations are not the way to manage relations between allies.”
A majority of Spaniards, 53.2 percent, back Sánchez’s decision not to let the United States use the Rota naval base and Moron airbase, according to a poll published Friday in daily newspaper El Pais.
