SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, Feb. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has “roundly” condemned Russia’s attack against Ukraine and has stated that it is a “failure of dialogue and diplomatic channels” attributable to the Russian country, as he stated at the subsequent press conference to the meeting of the Governing Council that took place today, Thursday, on the island of La Palma.
The Government Council was scheduled to be held before the Mixed Commission for the reconstruction of La Palma; the institutional act of tribute to the people of La Palma presided over by the King and the Conference of Presidents that was to take place tomorrow, Friday, but all these acts have had to be suspended due to the crisis in Ukraine.
The president has clarified that all these events have not been cancelled, but will be held later because the “very serious” situation that Europe and the globalized world are suffering after Russia’s attack on Ukraine required it. He admitted that it is “impossible” to set a new date yet, but both the King and President Pedro Sánchez have already told him that they will be held in La Palma.
In fact, Ángel Víctor Torres indicated that this very morning he received a call from the President of the Government of Spain to apologize for the need to suspend all these acts and also to inform him that the situation after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last morning is ” very worrying.”
Torres valued that leaders of different countries and the European Union as a whole have tried “until exhaustion” to find a way out of this conflict through diplomatic channels and dialogue; For this reason, he deeply regretted that Russia’s response has been a military attack that is already causing deaths and that is generating “tremendous concern.”
Consequently, the head of the Canarian Executive has called for an end to this “unilateral action” by the Russian Government and its president, Vladimir Putin, and for the path of dialogue and, above all, of peace to be resumed and the no to war in the face of a conflict that has repercussions on the international order, on the balance in Europe and on the economic plane.
CANARIES IN UKRAINE.
He also indicated that today he has received a request from people who have Canarian relatives in Ukraine, for which he has already contacted the embassy, the Government of Spain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that they can return soon to the Archipelago. He indicated that at the moment the exact number of canaries in Ukraine is not known.
Ángel Víctor Torres has also lamented that all this is taking place at a time when the Canary Islands were registering “very flattering” tourist data and that now it may again suffer a setback after the start of this armed conflict.
On the other hand, Torres has stressed the importance of the events that were going to be held in La Palma, which came to reflect the “improbable” work to help an island that has suffered the loss of many material goods as a result of the volcano and that demands the “maximum unity” of all institutions.
Meanwhile, he stated that the Government of the Canary Islands is going to continue with “intense” help and “listening to the citizens of Palma” for a reconstruction that “is not easy” but in which “we are making every effort.” In this regard, he highlighted that Parliament yesterday unanimously approved the validation of the decree law that will allow construction on rural land.
