French President Emmanuel Macron expresses European solidarity with Spain after Donald Trump threatened to sever all trade over a base dispute.

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his country’s solidarity with Spain on Wednesday after former US President Donald Trump threatened to sever all trade with the European nation.

Macron conveyed this message of European support directly to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a phone call, according to a statement from the French presidency.

The call was a response to what France termed “recent threats of economic coercion targeting Spain” from Trump.

The threat was issued after Spain refused to grant the United States use of its Rota naval base and Moron air base for military operations against Iran.

Trump also criticised Madrid’s refusal to join a NATO pledge to increase defence spending, stating bluntly that “we’re going to cut off all trade with Spain” and “we don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Sanchez’s leftist government has further strained relations with Washington through other policies, including its strong opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza and the military operation that led to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

In a separate televised address, Macron stated that recent US-Israel military actions in Iran were conducted “outside international law,” though he placed primary blame on the Islamic Republic itself.

He also announced that France would be deploying its flagship aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

 The Sun Malaysia