Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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Still rocking from the row over her announcement of a Spanish troop withdrawal from Kosovo, Defence Minister Carme Chacón, has presided over the departure of the Spanish frigate, ‘Numancia’ and the tanker ‘Marqués de la Ensenada’ which are both heading to patrol the waters off Somalia against pirates. The two ships have 323 on board and will join the EU patrols known as the Atalanta operation. The Spanish vessels join others from France, the U.K. Germany, Holland and Greece.
In her speech the Defence Minister said it was the ‘best proof of the Spanish commitment to the freedom of the seas’.
The Minister used the occasion at Rota, in Cádiz, to underline her decision on withdrawing troops from Kosovo. She said that the decision came because of a strict criteria – Spain does not recognise the state of Kosovo.
She agreed with the leader of the opposition, Mariano Rajoy, in praising the work of the military, but said their success on their missions abroad was inversely proportional to the work carried out in cabinet.
Source: Typicallyspanish.com, March 25, 2009