Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Remarks Welcoming Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles to the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Minister Robles, it's an honor to welcome you to the Pentagon. Thanks so much for coming.

And we look forward to Spain hosting the NATO Summit in Madrid next month. We're excited about that. We're meeting today at an important moment in European history, when democratic values and the rules-based international order are under attack. So especially now we stand united. Spain has a long -- has long been a steadfast ally of the United States. And together we're going to continue to support the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia's unprovoked and indefensible invasion.

Madam Minister, our support to Ukraine is making a big difference. We welcome Spain's important military contributions to deterrence along NATO's eastern flank, and we applaud your direct security assistance and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. While our attention is focused eastward right now, we must not overlook NATO's southern flank. Our competitors continue to seek a foothold there and instability could develop into threats that reach our homelands. And so we welcome Spain's leadership here. I look forward to getting -- getting your perspective given Spain's strategic location at the fulcrum of Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic.

In these turbulent times the NATO summit in Madrid next month will mark a turning point for the alliance as leaders endorse a new strategic concept, one that must -- must look both East and South. And so, Madam Minister, we're grateful for Spain's continued work with us as a -- at the Spanish military installations in Rota and Moron. Both bases host U.S. forces and provide seamless support to U.S. and allied operations. So we're very grateful for our robust bilateral defense relationship and this afternoon I hope that we can also explore ways to deepen our work together in some other critical areas, including cybersecurity, the global coalition to defeat ISIS, space, and climate change.

So Madam Minister, thanks so much for making the trip. I look forward to a great discussion.

SPANISH DEFENSE MINISTER MARGARITA ROBLES: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. First of all, I want to thank you for this warm welcome. For all of us, it's an honor to stay today here and is the best expression of how our close relationship between the United States and Spain. Certainly, with you, we are living in a very difficult moment. The situation in Ukraine shows to the world that we are -- we have a lot of threats and we have to stand together. The unity is one of strength. So we feel very proud of our assistance to Ukraine and we think we have to stand together in this idea of unity.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Thank you very much. (inaudible) we have to continue working together.

SEC. AUSTIN: We're delighted to have you here, Madam Minister. And I look forward to a great conversation.

Thanks, everybody.