GENEVA

Spain’s prime minister on Wednesday called for consistency in upholding international law, warning against double standards in responses to global conflicts. Pedro Sanchez stressed that countries cannot condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or defend Greenland's territorial integrity while remaining silent on violations elsewhere.

"What we cannot do is condemn the invasion of Ukraine … and applaud Iran’s attacks," he told Spain’s lower house of parliament, adding: "We cannot demand respect for Greenland’s territorial integrity and remain silent when territorial integrity is violated in Gaza or Lebanon."

He stressed that defending the international order requires coherence and consistency, warning that selective reactions undermine its credibility.

Sanchez also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to repeat in Lebanon "the same destruction and suffering perpetrated in Gaza."

The Spanish leader also criticized what he described as the broader consequences of the war in the Middle East.

"In my opinion, they have achieved the following: First, 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," he said.