Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was forced to miss the “coalition of the willing” summit in Paris after his plane suffered technical problems — the third aviation incident involving a European leader in just a week, according to Sky News.
Sánchez was en route to the French capital when the issue forced his aircraft to turn back to Madrid. He will now attend the meeting virtually, his office confirmed.
The incident comes on the heels of two other high-profile flight disruptions. Just days earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plane was affected by GPS jamming allegedly linked to Russian activity. And on Monday, a flight carrying Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda was unable to land in Vilnius for a time due to reports of a drone in the area.
Despite the turbulence, today’s Paris gathering is going ahead. Around 30 world leaders are meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss long-term security guarantees for Kyiv — a key issue as the U.S. has yet to provide firm commitments.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that technical plans for the guarantees have been finalized and signed off at the defense minister level, with allies preparing to send a clear political message to Washington.
