Spanish warships will join NATO’s naval forces in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea as strong forces in the growing region gain the Russian army’s build-up on the Ukrainian border, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday.

The minesweeper is already on the road and the frigate will set sail in three or four days, Robles told reporters. The government in Madrid is also considering sending fighter jets to Bulgaria, she said.

According to the Spanish media, it is a matter of withdrawing ahead of the time of the Spanish participation in the Permanent Naval Groups of the Alliance, as well as sending Eurofighter planes to Bulgaria by the end of February. It is a mission from the so-called Reinforced air police, ie. monitoring the airspace of the union, including the constant presence of Russian aircraft flying in responsibility without identifying the area.

Several sources from the defense have been confirmed for larazon.es, this operation is already planned and that 6 Eurofighters will be deployed by the end of next month along with a contingent of 100 military.

Their term of office will be 6-8 weeks, but some details need to be clarified, including the base where they will be located. Last year, Spanish fighter jets took part in the same mission, but were based in Romania.

The desire of the Ministry of Defense in Madrid was to participate every year in air policing in the area, but for 2022 all quotas in the union have been met and it was decided to use Spanish aircraft next year. But amid growing tensions, NATO has asked Allies to respond, and Spain has responded.

• A Coast Guard ship set sail for the Black Sea on Monday from the Canary Islands Meteoro. It is a platform for various missions, including recognizing, escorting and protecting ships in an asymmetric military situation, controlling maritime traffic, neutralizing terrorists, searching and rescuing, and more. This is the flagship of the Second Permanent Naval Mine Action Group (SNMCMG-2), part of the NATO Rapid Reaction Force

• The frigate Blas de Leso (Blas de Lezo) will set sail in the next 3-4 days to be awarded to the Permanent Naval Group No. 2 (SNMG-2)

• The Seya minesweeper will sail to the Meteoro group next week (Villages).

The grouping of minesweepers is guaranteed completely free access to the coast of each NATO member state.

“Russia cannot tell any country what to do, so NATO will defend the sovereignty of any country that can or wants to join NATO,” she said.

Spain’s preference is for an “extremely diplomatic response” to resolving the conflict, Robles added.

Spain’s contribution to NATO’s military deployment in Eastern Europe comes after Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, judges coordinate the response to Russia’s timid timidity for Ukraine for a meeting in Washington on Tuesday.

Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine, and Western countries fear Moscow is planning a new attack on the country, which invaded in 2014. The Kremlin denies planning the attack, but says it could take unspeakable military action if my list of demands will not be fulfilled, including NATO’s promise never to accept Ukraine as a member.

Western officials, diplomats and former officials told Reuters this week that NATO – established in 1949 to deter the Soviet threat – had been forced to consider reinforcements that contradicted Putin’s demand that the alliance not expand its defense infrastructure. to the east.

Denmark has said it is sending a frigate to the Baltic Sea this week, and French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to send troops to Romania. Further decisions on the troops could be made at the NATO summit in Madrid in June, diplomats and officials said.