Russia scrapped plans Wednesday to refuel Syria-bound warships in a Spanish port after Madrid came under pressure to refuse access to a flotilla that may be used to help attacks on Aleppo. The Spanish foreign ministry said that three Russian ships - part of a wider flotilla led by aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov - had been due to take on fuel and supplies from Friday at the port of Ceuta, a Spanish territory on the north coast of Africa.
There has been concern that the ships could take part in air strikes in Syria, where Russia has been staging a bombing campaign for the past year in support of President Bashar al-Assad and has deployed a naval contingent to back up its operation. "The Russian embassy in Madrid has just told us that it is withdrawing its demand for permission to stop over for the boats, which means that the stop-overs have been cancelled," the Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement.
Moscow's decision comes against a backdrop of increasing tensions between Russia and the West over the war in Syria, as well as the conflict in Ukraine. Just last week, the European Union's 28 leaders - including Spanish acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy - signed a draft statement condemning "the attacks by the Syrian regime and its allies, notably Russia, on civilians in Aleppo."
Russian ships have for years made stops in Spanish ports, with permission granted on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the safety of local residents and the environment, the ministry said. It added that Spain had given Russia permission in September to stop over from October 28 to November 2. But "faced with information that materialised about the possibility that these ships would help support military actions in the Syrian city of Aleppo, the foreign ministry asked the Russian embassy in Madrid for clarification on this information," it said in a statement.
Following this, Russia cancelled the planned stop-over, although it is unclear whether this decision was made voluntarily or under Spanish pressure. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had expressed concern that the flotilla could take part in Syria air strikes. "It's a decision which has been taken by individual allies, whether they provide fuelling and supplies to Russian ships," he told reporters in Brussels.
"But this time I have conveyed a very clear message that we are concerned about the potential of this carrier group to increase attacks in Aleppo," he added. "All allies are aware of our concerns, they share our concerns about Russian airstrikes against Aleppo."
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