Theresa May refuses to condemn Spain after it helps Russian forces refuel on way to bomb Syria

The Prime Minister said Russian vessels could 'go where they please' on the high seas

Theresa May at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons (House of Commons)

Theresa May has refused to condemn Spain for providing refuelling support to Russian ships on their way to join a brutal bombing campaign in Syria.

Russian aircraft carriers and warships moving to reinforce the country’s force in the Levant have been refuelling in Spanish ports, with dozens of naval vessels thought to have taken on supplies in recent years.

Britain has accused Russia of committing war crimes in Syria, with “indiscriminate bombing” of civilian targets – but Ms May on Wednesday refused to back a plan to frustrate the Russian war effort by refusing them refuelling support.

“It’s widely expected that the onslaught on Aleppo will be unleashed by Russian air power which is currently steaming across the Mediterranean aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov [aircraft carrier] and its battlegroup,” the SNP’s Westminster leader Angus Robertson said at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

“In recent years more than 60 Russian naval vessels have refuelled and resupplied in Spanish ports. Will the Prime Minister join me EU and Nato allies in unequivocally calling on Spain to refuse the refuelling?”

Ms May responded that Russian vessels could “move as they wish” on the high seas and said that if alleged atrocities continued Britain would look at other options along with other EU nations. She did not call for Spain to stop supporting Russian forces.

“The EU agreed that should the atrocities continue then we will look at all available options for taking action to put pressure on Russia to stop their indiscriminate bombing of innocent civilians,” she said.

HMS Richmond (front), a Type 23 Duke Class frigate, observing aircraft carrier, which is part of a Russian task group, during transit through the North Sea (Dez Wade/MoD/Crown Copyright/PA Wire)

“Of course, on the high seas they are able to travel as they wish, though when they went through the English Channel they were accompanied by Royal naval vessels as we went through.

“What we have seen sadly is that the Russians are already able to unleash attacks on innocent civilians in Syria. What matters is that we are able to put pressure on Russia to do what everybody agrees is the only way that we are going to resolve this issue, which is to ensure that we have a political transition in Syria.”

The refusal to call for the withdrawal of EU aid to Russian forces jars with recent comments by the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who said earlier this month he believed public opinion was moving towards supporting some kind of intervention to stop the bombing.

The Prime Minister also refused to take action to stop Saudi Arabian bombing in Yemen. Britain has been supplying billion of pounds in weapons to its brutal ally, which has also been accused of indiscriminately bombing civilians, including schools, international hospitals, and food factories.

A protest in London this weekend supported by some interventionist Labour MPs called for a “no fly zone” around Syria to stop Russian bombings. Critics of the plan have pointed out that the policy would risk escalating into a shooting war with Russia as it would involve shooting down jets that broke the zone’s rules.

A Downing Street spokesperson told journalists after PMQs that Britain had "raised concerns" about refuelling but refused to say Britain had asked for the practice to end.

Aleppo, once Syria’s largest city, has been engulfed in bloody battle since 2012, with thousands of civilians and combatants killed, millions displaced from their homes, and untold physical damage to buildings and streets.

Russian air power is intervening in the country on the side of the Syrian government, led by Bashar al-Assad, who has himself been accused of committing war crimes. US-led coalition bombers are intervening against the Isis militant group in the country.