Madrid (EFE).- The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has criticized this Friday the campaign of “very clear disinformation” of Russia criticizing Spain through social networks, which only intends to undermine the morale of the countries that support Ukraine , and has warned him that he will not succeed.
The official Twitter account of the Russian Embassy released a message a few days ago with a video of alleged Spanish fighters in Ukraine, in which it was recalled that Robles had assured on multiple occasions that there would never be Spanish soldiers on the ground.
In a press conference together with his French and German counterparts after signing a contract on the future Combat Air System (FCAS), Robles responded like this after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador in Madrid, Yuri Klimenco, in protest for those attacks on Spain spread through social networks.
“It is an example of a tweet from the Russian Embassy”, pointed out Robles, who has affirmed “absolutely” that “there are absolutely no NATO troops or soldiers belonging to the Spanish Armed Forces or from any country of the Alliance in Ukraine”.
He has also affirmed that Foreign Affairs “has done what it had to do” by summoning the ambassador to protest, because it is known that Russia uses “all kinds of methods such as disinformation to try to undermine unity” between the countries that are part of the EU and of NATO, but -he has warned- “he is not going to achieve it”.
Bolaños: “The Spanish government is not going to go through it”
In the same sense, the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, has warned this Friday that the Government will not admit the use of hoaxes and “fake news” and has transmitted this to the Russian ambassador, Yuri Klimenco.
Klimenco was summoned this Thursday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in protest against the dissemination, on the account of the Russian Embassy, of a message with a video of alleged Spanish fighters in Ukraine in which it was recalled that the Defense Minister, Margarita Robles , had assured on multiple occasions that there would never be Spanish soldiers on the ground.
The minister has stressed that the use of disinformation, hoaxes and “fake news” by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine is a “constant” and that, “of course, the Spanish government is not going to go through it ”.
He explained that the message from the Russian Embassy, which was withdrawn from the networks shortly after, directly affected Spain’s position in the conflict and, for this reason, the ambassador was summoned and “a very serious conversation was held with him.”