MADRID/ PNN/

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Monday that a comprehensive war in the Middle East can be avoided, despite the extreme tension the region is witnessing.

Albares said in an interview with the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser that avoiding such a war begins with a ceasefire in Gaza, allowing humanitarian aid to pass without hindrance to civilians in the Strip, and then establishing a framework for dialogue between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

He stressed in this regard that a ceasefire in Gaza and preventing the war from spreading to Lebanon should be among the priorities of Europe and the international community.

The Spanish Foreign Minister pointed out that his country "has warned for many months of the danger of the expansion of the scope of the catastrophe that the Gaza Strip is experiencing and its extension to Lebanon, and then its transformation into a destructive regional war."

He said, "the formula that Spain is looking forward to is launching a dialogue process with Israel, the result of which is the establishment of a Palestinian state living in security and peace, while the other formula is war."

Albares stressed that "the international community knows very well the formula for achieving peace in the region, and what it needs is the political will and political courage to implement it."