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Buenas tardes, 

Primero, y antes que nada, tengo que agradecer muy profundamente a la Presidencia española del Consejo [de la Unión Europea], al gobierno de España y a su ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, de la Unión Europea y de Cooperación [José Manuel Albares Bueno] por la extraordinaria organización de este doble encuentro – primero, [con] los ministros de Defensa y después [con] los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores. 

Creo que todos se van impactados por la belleza de Toledo, que muchos no conocían y creo que van a volver pronto, porque ha sido verdaderamente extraordinario el impacto visual de la ciudad, su belleza, su arquitectura, su historia. El paseo por la noche, visitando los monumentos, visitando las sinagogas, la Catedral.  

Realmente, desde el punto de vista organizativo y el entorno, ha sido excelente y España ha lucido sus mejores galas. Yo creo que casi demasiado porque al final, era difícil tenerles trabajando - todos querían escaparse a seguir viendo Toledo. 

Pero hemos tenido dos días muy intensos de trabajo.  

Sobre el primer [día] con los ministros de defensa, ya les informé.  

Today, we have been discussing, with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, on two main topics: Ukraine and the Niger Coup d'État, and the situation in the Sahel. 

We have not exhausted the topic. We will have to continue working on that, but it is important that today it was not a defence and military approach.  

Today, it has been [about] foreign relations, foreign affairs, diplomacy - looking for peace, providing support to Ukraine, but also looking for a way of ending the war in a just manner.  

We have had the chance of having with us – and thank you for inviting him - Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister [for Foreign Affairs] of Ukraine, who comes to almost every one of our meetings.  

He explained the latest developments on the ground. He explained the situation of the counter-offensive. The Defence Minister [of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov] yesterday already did it, but today Minister Kuleba insisted on the continuous bombing [by Russia] of civilian targets, in particular schools. 

On the first day of the school year, several schools were bombed by drones, and it was not an accident. It was done on purpose, and many teachers have been killed by this bombing.  

We [learned about] the developments on the ground, and we also [learned] about the diplomatic efforts in order to look for a better understanding of the causes and consequences of the war that could lead to meetings to try to look for peace. But a just peace. A peace that could prevent Ukraine from losing its territorial integrity or its sovereignty.  

Yesterday, we talked about military aspects. Today, we went to the non-military aspects, which are mainly financial. Because we need to support Ukraine in a manner [that is] predictable and sustainable. Not just next month or next week but [with] the long-range lenses and showing to the aggressor that we are standing with Ukraine today, tomorrow and always. During the war and after the war.  

The core elements of this support are the financial support for military supplies through the European Peace Facility and the training of Ukrainian soldiers through our EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) training mission for Ukraine.  

On the first, you know that the High Representative has the capacity – according with the treaties – of presenting proposals to the Council. In the end, the Council will decide – as always, at the end is the Council who decides.  

[I have made a] proposal of finding a sustainable and long-term way of supporting Ukraine, with a proposition of a ceiling of €20 billion - €5 billion per year – in the next 4 years.  

The Ministers have been discussing about that. I think the feedback I got from them on this proposal has been positive. In any case, they have shown a strong resolve to continue supporting Ukraine with military assistance, as long as needed. The discussion will continue in the Council. I hope we will reach an agreement by the end of the year. 

At the same time, I have to regret that the 8th tranche of the European Peace Facility (EPF) is still blocked. I hope we will be able to unblock [it] in the next weeks. But this is a problem that is still pending to be solved.  

On the training mission (EUMAM Ukraine), I have proposed a new target of 40,000 soldiers being trained in the next months. The Ministers supported this proposal. By the way, many of those soldiers have been trained here, in Toledo, in our [Spanish] Military Academy. 

Then, we discussed the Peace Formula. The Peace Formula presented by President [of Ukraine, Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is the only one that has been gaining traction, and is the only one that is being discussed in international fora.

There have been many others - from China, from Brazil, from South Africa, from the African Union. All of them have been dropped. None of them have been leading discussions. The only one is the ten point Peace Formula presented by President Zelenskyy and discussed in Stockholm and in Saudi Arabia. 

We have been discussing this Peace Formula and the way that we can continue supporting it and making it the centre of the international discussion’s about how to build a just peace in Ukraine. 

We also discussed about the grain deal [Black Sea Grain Initiative] - or the non-grain deal.  

I think that the Ministers coincide on the perception that Putin, with his aggression, is not only harming Ukraine, but [also] countries that are thousands of kilometers away. And for the first time, we see these countries blaming Russia for the consequences of its attitude by deliberately weaponising food, when they suspended [their participation in] the Black Sea Grain Initiative.  

Yes, it has a negative impact. Even on countries who are supporting or not blaming Russia, who are suffering [from] the consequences. The meeting between Russia and the African leaders [2nd Russia-Africa Summit] was a complete diplomatic failure, and I think that Russia is losing ground in the international community.  

We have to continue intensifying our outreach in support of Ukraine, during the week in New York [High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly], the G20 Summit, and continue fighting Russian disinformation around the world. 

This war is also a war of narratives. It is a war of storytellers - [it is about] how you present this war. We have to fight this war, because you do not only conquer surface, you conquer the brains. You conquer the minds of the people. This war has to be fought.  

I am summarising a long discussion.  

Then, we jumped on the situation in Niger. Here also we had an important guest. And thanks to you, to the Spanish Presidency for inviting the President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission [Omar Touray], and the Commissioner of the ECOWAS Commission for Peace and Security [Abdel-Fatau Musah], and also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Niger [Hassoumi Massaoudou]. When I am saying “Niger”, I am saying the legitimate government of President [Mohammed] Bazoum. 

You know that, at these meetings, there are lunches with guests which is being shared by the Presidency of the Council, and it was a fantastic idea to invite these African leaders because their testimony and explanation was very interesting, well-articulated, and quite clear.  

We listened to their views on the situation in Niger and the Sahel, as well as the ECOWAS responses and intentions regarding the restoration of constitutional order in Niger. 

We have not been talking about Gabon because Gabon is not a member of the ECOWAS. 

The Ministers reiterated the strong condemnation of the military coup in Niger, called for the release of President Bazoum and his family, and to go back to the constitutional order. 

This is something that has been involving in particular France. We expressed our solidarity with France, in particular for the situation of its Ambassador which has been in a difficult situation in Niamey.  

Permettez-moi de m’exprimer en français pour exprimer ma solidarité avec la France. Nous avons exprimé [notre] soutien [total] aux efforts de la Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) [et] pour mettre un maximum de pression sur la junte nigérienne. 

Nous nous sommes accordés pour suspendre l’aide budgétaire et la coopération en matière de défense et de sécurité. Pas seulement l’Union Européenne, tous les États membres. Et également la coopération qui ne touche pas directement la population.  

Nous avons également initié un processus pour la mise en place d’un cadre juridique de sanctions individuelles à l’encontre des putschistes, et nous sommes prêts à écouter les autres suggestions de la CEDEAO. 

Ils nous ont expliqué la situation sur le terrain et la manière dont la CEDEAO envisage la possibilité d’un déploiement militaire sur le terrain. 

Je répète, pour nous : “African solutions to African problems.” We are in listening mode. As I said yesterday, we are ready to consider [and] to study any proposal coming from the ECOWAS.  

I want to repeat the idea: President Bazoum was the only authority democratically elected in the whole central Sahel. The Minister [for Foreign Affairs of Spain] said that and it was a good summary of the situation.  

President Bazoum - I want to give an hommage to his personality. He is an extraordinary person who is resisting. He is not in jail but as if he was in jail, deprived of electricity for more than one month, being under pressure to resign, and he is not willing to resign. We have to continue supporting him. 

We studied also the situation of the coastal countries of the Gulf of Guinea. This is becoming more and more crucial since the jihadist terrorist threat is growing. 80% of the territory of Burkina Faso is out of control of the government. Many Nigerien soldiers have been killed by the jihadists after the coup d'État. 

Nous devons trouver la manière de revoir notre politique vis-à-vis du Sahel, en tenant compte de la nouvelle situation. 

Aussi, [la situation] au Gabon, qui se trouve depuis hier aussi [avec] un coup d'État, qui a suivi des élections qui, du point de vue démocratique, laissaient beaucoup à désirer. Ceci ne justifie pas le coup d'État mais je veux faire la différence claire entre ce qui s’est passé au Gabon et ce qui s’est passé au Niger. 

Les coups d'État militaires ne sont pas la solution mais chacun doit être jugé en fonction des circonstances. 

Nous croyons qu’un dialogue inclusif et substantiel assurant l’État de droit et les droits de l’homme, c’est la meilleure façon - et pas la force - d'assurer que la volonté exprimée par le peuple gabonais soit respectée. 

Then, we went to study other issues: the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. We called on the Azeri authorities to guarantee the safety and freedom of movement along the Lachin corridor. 

We discussed about the situation in the Middle East, in particular in [the Occupied Palestinian] territories. We are going to have a meeting during the UN General Assembly [High-Level] week in New York about it.  

And many other issues that I do not have time to summarise. But the important things are Ukraine and Niger.  

I want to make two announcements. 

First, on the Western Balkans. The Spanish Presidency is proposing - and I think it is a good proposal – to hold a Ministerial meeting together with the Western Balkans ministers. We will do it at the end of next month, together with the Spanish Presidency and following other events related with the [Western] Balkans, like the Berlin Process. I think that it is very important that the Ministers, under the Spanish Presidency, take stock of what is happening in the [Western] Balkans. 

On the 14^th of September, I will organise a new meeting of the High-Level Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia as facilitator of this Dialogue to look for solutions. 

The issue of enlargement has been floating over our discussions. Ukraine has to become a member of the European Union. The Western Balkans also. Quickly. 

I think that the war in Ukraine has had a collateral effect that is to speed up the enlargement process, which is certainly a merit-based process. A state will become a member when it fulfills all the conditions. But at the same time, I think it is good to have a political target – a horizon – in order to give a political impetus to the process. And also, for us – because yes, we too have to be prepared for an enlargement that could add 10 more members to the European Union. 

So, it is more for them to be prepared, in particular Ukraine, that will need a lot of support. But [it is] also, for the European Union, in a horizon that at the same time represents the fulfillment of the conditions – otherwise, it will not happen – but proposing a horizon, a kind of ‘time target’, could mobilise our energies and the energies of the candidate countries. 

I have been too long. I am sure my colleague and friend, [Minister] Albares, will complement my explanation. Thanks again for this extraordinary hospitality that has enlightened Spain in front of all European Member States. 

Q&A 

Q. ¿Cuándo dicen “soluciones africanas para problemas africanos”, eso significa que Europa, y en particular España, no va a apoyar militarmente a la CEDEAO, como si parece que está buscando Francia? ¿Qué significa eso que dice que Europa se ha equivocado en algunas cosas respecto a África y que cambios va a suponer? ¿Sabemos algo de cómo será esa intervención militar, esos planes militares que tiene la CEDEAO para Níger? 

Si me permite, Ministro, yo no creo que España vaya a hacer nada diferente de lo que vayamos a hacer de común acuerdo la Unión Europea. Es que España - no es que se aliñe, es que forja la política común europea. Por lo tanto, al contestar desde Europa, creo que estoy pisando la respuesta al Ministro.  

Hemos sido todo lo claros que se puede ser en circunstancias con tantos interrogantes, en una situación tan fluida y con tantas incertidumbres. Por cierto, las explicaciones del presidente de ECOWAS [Omar Touray] y el ministro [de

Asuntos Exteriores [de Niger, Hassoumi Massaoudou] han sido extraordinarias. Habría que llevarlos a la Escuela Diplomática porque francamente, han dado una lección de cómo se resume y expresa una situación tan compleja como esta.  

Vamos a aplicar un régimen de sanciones individuales siguiendo estrictamente lo que ha hecho ECOWAS a los responsables de la Junta. Vamos a pedir una excepción humanitaria para que las limitaciones al tráfico de mercancías no creen un problema humanitario en Níger. No queremos que las sanciones se conviertan en un castigo adicional para el segundo país más pobre del mundo. Y tercero, nuestro apoyo a ECOWAS es pleno. Pero tenemos que saber qué es lo que proponen hacer. Y como he dicho, estamos abiertos a considerar las propuestas concretas y detalladas que tendrán que ser evaluadas, claro está, por nuestra parte. Nuestra disposición a estudiar y a considerar las propuestas que hagan es plena. En el terreno de sanciones, en el terreno de presión diplomática, en señalar claramente su voluntad de no dejar que los golpistas de instalen en Níger. Pero claro, tenemos que saber qué es lo que quieren. Mejor dicho, qué es lo que quieren hacer, y en función de eso decidiremos. 

Q. Si j'ai bien compris sur le Niger, vous donnez la priorité pour l'instant à la voie diplomatique et la possibilité de soutenir une intervention militaire, ça ne reconnaît pas pour l'instant à un consensus européen. Est-ce que j'ai bien compris ça ? Et est-ce que sur le Gabon, qui est une autre situation, vous demandez au dirigeant actuel, qui s'est proclamé vainqueur des élections, de se retirer dans le cadre d'une solution transitoire ? 

Évidemment que l’on privilégie la solution diplomatique. Évidemment. Personne ne souhaite une intervention militaire. On privilégie la voie diplomatique et c'est ça qu'on fait. C’est ça que fait la CEDEAO. Il y a eu combien de missions de la CEDEAO qui sont allées à Niamey ? Le Président de la Commission de la CEDEAO nous l’a bien expliqué. Il y est allé, et il nous a expliqué comment il était autorisé à visiter le Président Bazoum. Il ne fait pas froid à Niamey, non ? Être dans une maison sans électricité, ce n'est pas facile, mais il était sans électricité. Sans électricité et parfois sans eau. Il a parlé avec la junte, il sait très bien ce que la junte pense mais la CEDEAO continue à chercher une solution diplomatique. Qu’est-ce qui va venir après ? Je ne sais pas. C'est à la CEDEAO de le décider.  

Et certainement, comme j'ai dit et je répète, les coups d'État militaires ne sont pas des solutions, mais je me permets de faire une différence entre la situation au Niger et la situation au Gabon. C'est clair, comme je l’ai dit avant : le Niger était, avec le Président Bazoum, le seul Président élu démocratiquement dans tout le Sahel, et [concernant] les élections au Gabon, on a beaucoup de doutes sur leur validité démocratique. Il ne faut pas mettre les choses sur le même pied d'égalité. Tout en disant [cela] - et je l'ai dit dans mon communiqué - ça ne justifie pas [le coup d'État]. On rejette le coup d'État et on demande un dialogue politique inclusif qui permette une restauration d'un régime démocratique - mais un véritable régime démocratique, pas un régime de façade.  

Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-245067