Afghanistan Albares advances that Spain works so that the Taliban let collaborators leave freely
Foreign Affairs Foreign concern that the breakdown of relations between Morocco and Algeria ends up affecting Spain
Politics Pedro Sánchez aspires to have a relationship with Morocco with "more solid foundations than up to now"
Spain is holding talks with Morocco and Algeria after the rupture of relations between these two countries, as revealed this Monday in Congress by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who has appeared to report on the Spanish mission in Afghanistan and to present the lines of his department, after his appointment last July as a substitute for Arancha González Laya.
This change was motivated by the open crisis with Morocco, over which Albares has tiptoed despite the fact that communication is now restored and Mohamed VI himself publicly announced his willingness to open a "new stage" of relations with Spain.
And precisely in this context, the return to normality with Rabat, the constant and historical friction between Morocco and Algeria, faced by the Sahara and by the leadership in North Africa, has worsened.
In his first speech, Albares has been very cautious, he has highlighted the importance that the Maghreb has for our country -the second market for Spain after the EU-, he has given as an example of how fragile stability is in the region rupture of relations between Algiers and Rabat and has maintained that "one of my main priorities will be relations with Morocco and Algeria, friendly and partner countries."
No one should "worry"
According to the minister, he is talking to both countries and no one should "worry" in Spain because the "gas supply is not in danger." Algeria is the main supplier of gas to Spain and approximately half of this resource comes from there, through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, which links the Algerian Hassi R'Mel fields passing through Morocco and the Strait of Gibraltar.
The PP asked Albares if the electricity bill, already at historical prices, could become even more expensive due to the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Algiers and Rabat.
The Algerian Minister of Energy,
Mohamed Arkab
, announced on Thursday that from autumn all the gas that he exports to Europe will be sent through the Medgaz gas pipeline, between Spain and Algeria, through the Alboran Sea, to avoid Moroccan territory.
This is one of the data that allows the Government to affirm that the supply is guaranteed.
However, the Executive is concerned about the consequences of this new crisis between Algeria and Morocco, especially if one of them demands gestures of support.
The territorial issue of Western Sahara has been a constant element of tension between the two countries.
Although he has also been asked - specifically, the Bildu deputy - if Spain will change its position, as Rabat demands, after Donald Trump recognized, against international law, the Moroccan sovereignty of the Sahara, the minister has referred to the traditional Spanish position in defense of a solution within the framework of the United Nations.
What Albares has made clear is that he wants to get along "extraordinarily well" with Morocco because many of Spain's interests are at stake, and that the relationship with this country is much "broader" than the differences it maintains with respect to the Sahara.
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Spain
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Occidental Sahara
Congress of Deputies
Jose Manuel Albares
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