Cristóbal Colón Frigate to Join French Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The Spanish government will send the Cristóbal Colón Frigate to join a group led by the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to Cyprus. The news was confirmed by the Spanish Ministry of Defense in a statement.

According to the report, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles had previously announced that she would make her capabilities available if requested by the European Union. In an interview with Radio Ser, Robles emphasized that Spain is a "firm and committed" ally of the United Nations, NATO, and the European Union, and stated that "offensive missions are one thing and defensive missions are another."

The Spanish Defense Minister added that Spain will always stand by the European Union in defending the fundamental principles of coexistence and peace, and that if “the European Union or some of its members approve missions to protect Cyprus,” the Spanish government “will consider and examine it.”

Less than two hours after these statements, the Spanish government decided to send the frigate. Meanwhile, according to the Defense Ministry, the Cristóbal Colón Frigate had joined the naval group of the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier since March 3 to carry out escort, protection, and advanced training tasks in the Baltic Sea.

The group will now head to the Mediterranean Sea to reach the coast of Crete around March 10. The supply ship Cantabria will also put to sea for a short time to provide refueling and logistical support while the naval group passes through the Gulf of Cadiz.

But the most important thing is that the Cristobal Colon Frigate is the most technologically advanced. Its mission in the Mediterranean will be to provide air protection and defense, thus complementing the capabilities of the Patriot system deployed in Turkey. The frigate will also be ready to support, if necessary, any evacuation of civilians who may be affected by the conflict.

On the other hand, indeed, Cyprus is not a member of NATO, but it is a member of the European Union and holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union this semester. This is while Cyprus witnessed an attack by an Iranian-made drone on the British military base in Akrotiri in the south of the island on Monday morning. It was after this incident that Britain, France, and Greece pledged to send frigates and anti-missile and anti-drone systems to the country.

This is while Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles denied the statements of US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly said that Spain does not cooperate in the field of defense. She recalled that Spain participates in the framework of NATO in Turkey, in Lebanon with the United Nations, and in Operation Atalanta.

On the other side of the field, the Spanish Defense Minister referred to the incident in Turkey on Wednesday, in which NATO defense systems in the country intercepted an Iranian missile over the eastern Mediterranean, and its remains fell in the southernmost point of Turkey.

According to Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, in this particular case, Spanish forces stationed in Turkey did not play a role in shooting down the missile fired by Iran, but provided "sufficient information" to destroy it.

Finally, the Spanish Defense Minister concluded by summarizing Spain's military presence, saying that currently, 1,000 Spanish soldiers are stationed in Lebanon "in difficult conditions", as well as soldiers in Iraq and Turkey. Meanwhile, we have also deployed a "Patriot system for monitoring the situation" in Turkey.