Spain's Sanchez slams double standards on Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivered a sharp rebuke Wednesday against what he called double standards in the international community's response to global conflicts, urging consistency in upholding international law. Speaking before Spain's lower house of parliament, Sanchez challenged the selective application of principles.

No exceptions for Gaza, Lebanon

"What we cannot do is condemn the invasion of Ukraine … and applaud Iran's attacks," Sanchez said. "We cannot demand respect for Greenland's territorial integrity and remain silent when territorial integrity is violated in Gaza or Lebanon." He argued that defending the international order requires coherence and warned that selective reactions ultimately undermine the credibility of the rules-based system. The prime minister accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to inflict "the same destruction and suffering perpetrated in Gaza" upon Lebanon.

Broader consequences

Sanchez also criticized the wider fallout from the Middle East conflict, stating that it had achieved multiple damaging outcomes: "undermining international law, destabilizing the Middle East, instigating conflicts in Iraq and Lebanon, and burying Gaza under the rubble—not this time under concrete rubble, but under oblivion and indifference." His remarks reflect growing European frustration over the expanding conflict following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which have killed more than 1,340 people since Feb. 28.