Spain’s defense minister said Saturday that cluster bombs should not be sent to Ukraine, a day after the United States said it would send weapons to Kiev to help it counterattack Russian forces.
More than 100 countries, including Spain, ban cluster munitions, which release a large number of small bombs that can indiscriminately strike over a wide area. The danger is that the bombs will remain unexploded for decades.
“Spain, based on its strong commitment to Ukraine, is also determined not to transfer certain weapons and bombs under any circumstances,” Minister Margherita Robles told reporters during a rally in Madrid ahead of the July 23 general election.
“No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which, as we understand, should not be carried out by cluster bombs,” she added.
Robles said the decision to send the cluster bombs was made by the US government and not by NATO, to which Spain belongs.
Among the Spanish parties, support for Ukraine and the provision of military assistance to it in the war is widespread.
Russia, Ukraine and the United States have not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the production, stockpiling, use and transfer of these weapons.
