| Anxious in anticipation of Putin King Juan Carlos of Spain is an extremely punctual person. Russian journalists covering President Putin's two-day state visit to Spain, which began yesterday, were specifically warned about this. In confirmation of this royal quality of the Spanish monarch, a special biographical note cites a story apparently known to all his subjects: once Juan Carlos “made him wait standing for 20 minutes” for the English ambassador who was late for the presentation of his credentials.
But the British ambassador is one thing, the Russian president is another, who was exactly 20 minutes late for the ceremonial meeting with Juan Carlos at the El Pardo Palace - which became his residence during Vladimir Putin’s visit; the palace served as the official residence of the dictator for 40 years Franco. All this time, the king and his wife, Queen Sofia, dressed lightly in spring (in Madrid the air warms up to 13 degrees Celsius during the day), waited for the guest on the platform at the entrance to the palace and talked with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero and his ministers. Journalists, both Russian and Spanish, wondered what could have caused Mr. Putin to delay.
Then something happened that distracted them from this topic. Trouble struck among the ranks of the royal guards, who had been standing here for hours to then pass as a guard of honor. Either from standing for a long time and motionless in the sun, or from something else, one of them became ill. His comrades grabbed him by the arms and dragged the unfortunate man behind the nearby trees. But before the ranks of the guards had time to close again, they suffered a new loss. Another one lost consciousness and fell to the ground. He was carried in the same direction as the first one.
And then the motorcade of the Russian President finally appeared. Vladimir Putin and his wife got out of the limousine and joined the royal couple. The First Lady of Russia instantly captured the attention of the journalistic corps, at least its female part, with the red color of her hair. Putin has never seen Lyudmila like this before.
Then a colorful parade took place, the main decoration of which were carts drawn by incredibly powerful trotters with guardsmen who had survived the sun sitting on them. They tried very hard to remain brave, saluting their monarch and his Russian guest.
Then Juan Carlos and Mr. Putin and their spouses headed to the Spanish king’s own residence, the Zarzuela Palace. Here the royal children, the two eldest daughters and Prince Felipe, who was destined to one day take the throne, were waiting for them, as well as his wife Letizia, until recently a simple Spanish journalist. Introduction, brief handshake, photographing for the press. All. With this, the official welcoming ceremony for the Russian President was completed. The host and guest retired to talk, and so did the ladies.
Then Mr. Putin went to the center of Madrid, where the mayor of the Spanish capital, Alberto Jimenez, was waiting for him. He warmly welcomed the guest, informing him of his Russian roots on his mother’s side, then spoke with admiration of the Russian president’s former boss, the “reformer politician” Anatoly Sobchak. The Madrid mayor also said words that Vladimir Putin would probably like - about the “dark forces” challenging the world, “the most destructive of which is terrorism.” Mr. Jimenez said that “responsibility for terror lies only with those who carry it out, and concessions do not lead to the pacification of terrorism, but, on the contrary, stimulate it.” A sign of special favor towards the distinguished guest was the presentation of the “golden keys” to the Spanish capital by the mayor.
Late in the evening yesterday, the day ended with a gala reception given in honor of the Russian President by Juan Carlos. Surprisingly, all journalists covering the visit received an invitation to it, if they were willing to comply with the only requirement of royal protocol - to be dressed in a dark suit.
Today Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero and with the leadership of the Cortes (parliament) of Spain. Obviously, their main topics will be the Middle East crisis, the situation around the Iranian nuclear dossier, the fight against terrorism, and the desire to intensify economic cooperation between Russia and Spain. In 2005, trade turnover between the two countries barely exceeded $6 billion, of which more than half was the export of Russian energy resources to Spain. Judging by the interest with which Spanish journalists questioned Mr. Putin before his departure for Madrid about Moscow's possible support for Spain's bid to become a member of the G8, this issue will also be raised by Mr. Zapatero.
Finally, local journalists hope that the Russian president will be asked about the fate of Antonio Valdez Garcia, the former director of one of the Yukos subsidiaries, the Russian Fargoil campaign. Having dual citizenship, the son of one of the “Spanish children” taken to the USSR during the Spanish Civil War in the 30s of the last century, Antonio Garcia was arrested in June 2005 in Russia. He was last seen in September. Since then, neither relatives nor friends have known anything about him. And the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia does not respond to relevant requests. It was the question about the fate of Antonio Valdez Garcia that was the last one that Spanish journalists asked Vladimir Putin during the meeting on February 6. The President replied that he knew nothing about this matter. For some reason, this question and its answer are not included in the transcript of the interview published on the president’s official website. Arkady DUBNOV, Madrid |
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