Spain threatens to close its ports to Russian ships over Ukraine invasion

SPAIN’S Foreign Minister said the EU-bloc should close its ports to Russian ships in the same way that airspace has been closed to Russian aircraft.

Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s Foreign Minister, said the issue would be discussed with EU partners in the hope of finding consensus within the coming days.

While Raquel Sanchez, Minister for Transport, said Spain’s was considering not just banning Russian-flagged ships from its ports but also ships backed by Russian capital.

“Another measure being considered is to ban them from entering Spanish territorial waters,” Sanchez told TVE in an interview on Monday.

She admitted that such a move may be complicated and invite reciprocity from Russia but that there was a need for a united response against “this madness of Señor Putin”.

On Sunday, Spain decided to close its airspace to Russian aircraft, following other European countries including the UK, Germany and Italy.

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