Algeria suspended the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation, which it concluded with Spain 20 years ago, against the backdrop of Madrid's position on the Western Sahara issue.
This decision was announced at the conclusion of a meeting of the Algerian Supreme Security Council headed by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, held yesterday, Wednesday.
The treaty concluded in 2002 called on the two sides to "deepen their cooperation in controlling migration flows and combating human trafficking," according to the text recorded in the Spanish Official Gazette.
The treaty also stipulates strengthening political dialogue between the two countries at all levels and developing cooperation in the economic, financial, educational and defense fields.
In a statement to the Presidency of the Republic, "the Spanish authorities have launched a campaign to justify the position they have adopted regarding Western Sahara, which is inconsistent with its legal, moral and political obligations as a managing force for the region, which is still the responsibility of the Kingdom of Spain until the United Nations announces the completion of the decolonization of Western Sahara."
The Algerian presidency continued, "The position of the Spanish government is inconsistent with the international legitimacy imposed on it by its capacity as a managing force and the efforts of the United Nations and the new personal envoy of the Secretary-General, and directly contributes to the deterioration of the situation in Western Sahara and the entire region."
Algeria withdrew its ambassador to Spain for consultations since last March, due to the dispute over the new Spanish position on Western Sahara. Madrid changed its position on the issue to publicly support the autonomy project proposed by Rabat.
Madrid regrets
The Algerian move comes in the wake of statements by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before members of Parliament, in which he renewed support for the autonomy initiative proposed by Morocco in the disputed Sahara with the Polisario Front.
Spanish diplomatic sources confirmed Algeria's decision, saying that the Madrid government regrets the decision and affirms its commitment to the content and principles of the treaty.
These sources considered that Spain "considers Algeria as a neighboring and friendly country and reiterates its full readiness to continue maintaining and developing special relations of cooperation between the two countries."
For its part, the Algerian Banks Association announced, in a statement, that Algeria has banned all imports from Spain, starting today, Thursday.
The association banned all banks in the country from any bank localization process for import and export operations with Spain, starting today.