Obama reiterates US desire for strong, unified Spain

President Obama met with the Spanish Royals this week at the White House.

With the Spanish Royal family in the United States this week – King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia are on their first official visit stateside to meet the US president – Barack Obama has expressed his ‘deep commitment’ to a strong and unified Spain…

While tactfully avoiding mentioning the Catalan and Basque separatist issues explicitly, Obama did say that the US is keen on maintaining a relationship with a Spain that is based on the country remaining a strong and positive presence in Europe and the world.

During a bilateral meeting with the Spanish King in the White House, Obama would later refuse to be drawn directly on the secession movement, but the Spanish government were satisfied that his carefully chosen words were tacit support of their stance.

Catalan ‘elections’ are due to be held on September 27, where a de facto vote will be held on the independence issue. The vote will not be recognised by the Spanish government, so any result either way will have no immediate bearing on Catalonia’s future. However, a solid ‘yes’ to independence will further strengthen the secession movement’s resolve to negotiate with Madrid on this issue.

The Catalan premier Artur Mas has said that should his pro-independence campaign secure an absolute regional majority, then he will feel compelled to forge ahead with the independence process.

Obama’s words will not have been well received in many corners of Catalonia or the Basque Country, with the US president echoing similar words of support for a unified Spain from British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“As a matter of foreign policy, we are deeply committed to maintaining a relationship with a strong and unified Spain,” said Obama as King Felipe VI sat next to him in the famous Oval Office. “We think that Spain’s presence is important not only to Europe, but also to the United States and also to the world.”

King Felipe VI also studiously ignored questions regarding the issue from the attendant Spanish media, preferring instead to recall his time in Washington as a student at Georgetown University.

Elsewhere in Washington, the Secretary of State uttered similar views when discussing foreign policy with the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo.

The official US position has long been in support of a unified Spain, which is the same right across most of Europe and among all members of NATO.