Russia has withdrawn a request for a flotilla of warships to be allowed to refuel in Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta, after Nato allies criticised Madrid for assisting warships they believe could be used to target civilians in Syria. The Russian embassy in Madrid gave no reason for the change of heart, but said the fleet would bypass the port, across the Straits of Gibraltar from mainland Spain, which Moscow has frequently used in the past.

The Spanish foreign ministry said in a statement: “The Russian embassy has just informed us that it is withdrawing the request for permission for stopovers for these ships and these stopovers have therefore been cancelled.”

It is understood that the Spanish foreign affairs ministry formally asked the Russians if the ships were likely to be used in future Russian attacks on the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo and, if so, said it was advisable that Russia withdraw the request to use Ceuta.

Led by the country’s sole aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, the Russian flotilla had been due to dock imminently at Ceuta. Bordering Morocco, which also lays claim to the territory, Ceuta is an anomaly, since it is one of two European cities in mainland Africa. It is part of the EU, and has the euro as its currency. However, its Nato status is unclear.

Spain had come under intense international pressure to withdraw the refuelling offer, from countries including Britain and the United States. The Russian defence ministry said the Russian fleet had never intended to dock at Ceuta in the first place. The reported plan had, however, drawn criticism from the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, senior European parliamentarians and Conservative MPs in Britain.



Prior to the Russian announcement, the UK’s defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said Britain “would be extremely concerned if a Nato member should consider assisting a Russian carrier group that might end up bombing Syria”. “On the contrary, Nato should be standing together,” he said as Nato defence ministers gathered in Brussels.

The Spanish were accused of hypocrisy for potentially letting the warships refuel, after signing statements last week accusing the Russians of war crimes in Syria, and tweeting support for the “liberation of Syria” during a conference in Paris on Tuesday.

Since 2011, at least 60 Russian warships have docked there, including numerous stopovers following the imposition of EU sanctions on Russia for its invasion and annexation of Crimea in March 2014. At least 25 Russian navy vessels have been resupplied at various Spanish ports since then.

The practice has been criticised in the past, but the scale of the Russian-backed bombardment of eastern Aleppo brought a new level of outrage this week.

The Russian fleet, representing the core of its Murmansk-based northern fleet, includes four warships and the tanker Sergei Osipov, a tanker that helped rescue the battle cruiser when it broke down in 2012 in the Bay of Biscay. It appears that none of the ships will now enter the Spanish port.

On Tuesday, Stoltenberg said: “We are concerned – and have expressed very clearly – by the potential use of that battle group to increase airstrikes on civilians in Aleppo.” He said it was “up to each nation to decide whether these vessels may obtain supplies and refuel at different ports along the route to the eastern Mediterranean”.

Nato has been monitoring the movement of the eight-strong carrier battle group from northern Russia en route to the eastern Mediterranean, where alliance officials fear it will launch fighter bombers to hit north-western Syria early in November.

Although military analysts say the fleet’s passage could be a PR exercise, it does increase Russian air power and make the remote possibility of an American air force counter-strike more hazardous. Last week, British Royal Navy vessels monitored the Russian warships as they moved through the Channel.

Ceuta is one of the poorest towns in Spain. According to its port authority, about 2,300 Russian sailors spent leave in the city in 2014, changing around €450 of foreign currency each to spend locally during their free time. That adds up to over €1m a year, most of which goes on local dining and shopping. In addition, an amphibious ship needs around 300 tons of diesel fuel and 150 tons of water; an oil tanker might need as much as 3,750 tons of fuel.

It is now likely that pressure will be placed on the Maltese government to withdraw any offer of facilities for the Russian ships.