EU Commission president and Spain PM on Ukraine

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Saturday that the 27-member bloc must rid itself of its "dependence" on Russian oil, gas and coal, to improve the security of supply as well as for environmental reasons.

Von der Leyen made the comments during a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Madrid. Sánchez also asserted that there was a need to strengthen the EU's defence policy to complement an "increasingly relevant NATO."

He added that the Madrid summit next June will be an excellent opportunity to underline the complementary between the defence policies of both organizations.