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  • Congress Pablo Casado demands that Pedro Sánchez "allow himself to be helped" in the crisis with Morocco and he accuses him of being "unfair" to "overthrow the Government"

The Government wants to keep a "cool head" and try to defuse the tension with Morocco. in one of the worst diplomatic crises of the decade. A response is being given, with the intervention of the Army, to the massive arrival of Moroccan immigrants to the coasts of Ceuta, while contacts with Rabat continue.

Spain has not replied to Morocco's decision to call its ambassador for consultations, the last diplomatic step that this country has taken to show the deterioration of bilateral relations, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, has assured this tomorrow at RNE that the lines of communication "are still open through different channels." The Executive, he said, "has always shown its interest and willingness to keep them as open as possible" because "you don't deal with your neighbors by not getting on the phone."

In fact, the minister has not ruled out that Moncloa ends up asking for the mediation of King Felipe VI, who maintains important ties of friendship with Mohamed VI, as a result of the intense relationship that their parents already had.

Laya has ensured that "any approach mission must have a discretion to be effective."

"The most prudent thing for me will be to remain discreet about which channels are being used or can be used to approach positions in this situation."

The intervention of Felipe VI is something that has been speculated for days because it could play an essential role.

But the Monarch cannot mediate without a request from the Government.

Until now, the Government has treated this issue as a specific migration crisis and has activated the EU to remind Morocco that Ceuta is the southern border not only of Spain but also of Europe. Brussels has been forceful and the Vice President of the Commission and head of Migration, Margaritis Schinás

,

in an interview also in RNE, has warned that "Europe will not be intimidated by anyone."

But today, for the first time, González Laya has addressed the real reasons for this crisis with Morocco: the Spanish position on Western Sahara and the decision to welcome the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, to be treated in a hospital in Logroño, which has ended up blowing up the relationship with Rabat. Although the true background is that Spain did not change its position on the Sahara after the recognition that Donald Trump made on December 10, 2020 of the Moroccan nature of this territory. Rabat showed its dissatisfaction with the suspension of the summit with Spain, scheduled for the following week, and from that moment more boats began to arrive on the Canary Islands.

Laya has defended on the Sahara that "Spain has always been exquisitely prudent in its position, always anchored in the need for a political solution in the United Nations, which will lead to a lasting, stable and secure peace. The Spanish position does not it has not changed one iota. Spain is a country that respects international law. This message has been maintained without changing a single comma, either in public or in private. "

Regarding the attention to Ghali, the minister said that our country has a "humanitarian tradition" and "it must be able to exercise it when it deems it necessary, respecting its neighbors and never seeking aggression against anyone."

"All the explanations have been given, multiple times and through multiple channels," he highlighted.

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  • Occidental Sahara

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  • Mohamed VI

  • Arancha González Laya

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Wide Angle Morocco increases diplomatic belligerence to cling to Sahara

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