German president handed key to Madrid as three-day Spain visit begins

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier began a three-day state visit to Spain on Wednesday, with political discussions and a tour of Guernica on the agenda.

Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender were welcomed at the Royal Palace in Madrid by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia with military honours and a 21-gun salute.

Two Eurofighters from the Spanish Air Force accompanied Steinmeier's plane on its way to Madrid after it entered the country's airspace.

Steinmeier was later presented with a golden key to the Spanish capital at the city hall.

Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida called the gesture the "most important symbol of our hospitality and appreciation."

"This key is only given to those whom we truly respect and admire from the bottom of our hearts," he added.

The German leader replied that for him, the key was also "an encouragement to further strengthen mutual trust and the partnership between Germany and Spain."

The Spanish royal couple, who made a state visit to Germany in October 2022, will host a state banquet in honour of their guests in the evening.

Steinmeier is the first German president to make a state visit to Spain since Johannes Rau in 2002.

According to Steinmeier's office, the trip is intended to reflect the good bilateral relations between Germany and Spain. It also aims to demonstrate close solidarity between pro-European partners.

Another topic will be economic cooperation. Felipe and Steinmeier plan to open a German-Spanish economic forum together on Thursday.

Steinmeier also plans to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, with talks likely to focus on the war in Ukraine.

Spain has recently pledged further aid of €817 million ($944 million) to Kiev.

At the end of his visit, Steinmeier will visit the Basque Country. In addition to talks with the government of the autonomous region, he is due to visit the town of Guernica to commemorate the victims of the German bombing raid on April 26, 1937. 

During the Spanish Civil War, aircraft belonging to the German "Condor Legion" bombed the small town, destroying three-quarters of it.

Estimates of the number of fatalities vary between 300 and 1,500. It was the first major bombing raid on a defenceless town's population in European history.