Pedro Sanchez

Spain is arming Turkey. It is all the more curious when one considers that Spain is a member of the MED-9 group of Mediterranean countries that is working more closely with Greece, and it is certainly unacceptable.

During a visit of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Ankara, the reinforcement of the defence cooperation between the two countries was announced.

Athens' uncharacteristically public and sharp criticism this week of a fellow member - Spain, in this case - following a high-profile defense deal whereby Madrid will sell Turkey a new aircraft carrier, and possibly a submarine, generated an immediate reaction.

Greece has expressed its intense consternation over the stance of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in seeking an upgrade of Turkey-Spain cooperation, particularly in the area of defence, at a time when the EU and the international community have condemned Ankara's provocations against EU member-states Greece and Cyprus and violations of international law in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Turkish president on Nov. 17 urged countries of the European Union to take "concrete steps" to develop ties with Turkey, a candidate for EU membership, and to take a strategic approach on relations with Turkey.

Glasgow – Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted the need to create a realistic path to implement the goals from the Paris climate agreement as he addressed the World Leaders Summit, a high-level political event held in Glasgow as part of the ongoing COP26 climate conference.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on Spain's Canary Islands on Sept. 19, spewing out lava, ash and a huge column of smoke after days of increased seismic activity and forcing the evacuation of around 5,000 local people, authorities said.

Cumbre Vieja, which last erupted 50 years ago, straddles a ridge in the south of La Palma island, home to around 80,000 people.

Spanish director Mario Camus, whose film about the aftermath of Spain's 1936-39 civil war won the top award at the Berlin film festival, died on Sept. 18. He was 86.

"Filmmaker Mario Camus passed away in Santander," Spain's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a posting on social media.

The EUMed 9 Summit will be held on Friday in Athens, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Culture Centre (SNFCC).

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will attend today's Med9 summit in Athens, where the leaders will focus their talks on climate change and environmental protection in the aftermath of Greece's disastrous wildfires that destroyed about 130,000 hectares in August during a heat wave.

AGERPRES' special correspondent Florentina Peia reports: President Klaus Iohannis met, on Friday, before the meeting of the European Council, with the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sanchez.