Spanish foreign minister laughs at question about threat to expel kingdom from NATO

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares laughed when answering a question about threats to expel the kingdom from NATO.

"Let's talk seriously," the foreign minister said after a brief laugh when journalists asked him about it. "Spain is a reliable country that always does what it says, with defense spending at 2% [of GDP]," the diplomat's words were quoted by the newspaper El Mundo. "Not all countries can be at this level of spending, despite saying that they will do more."

Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a source, that Pentagon employees discussed options for punishing allies in the alliance for their unwillingness to help the United States in a war against Iran. Among the proposed options outlined in a memo distributed among high-ranking staff was the suspension of Spain's membership in NATO.

The North Atlantic Treaty underlying NATO does not provide for a procedure to expel or suspend the membership of any country.

Source: TASS