Spain claims that it warned Algeria of its diplomatic change over Western Sahara

The Spanish government said it warned Algeria of its support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, a change of stance that provoked outrage from Algiers, one of Spain's main gas suppliers.

Given what he called Spain's “abrupt turn”, Algeria, the main support of the Saharawi independence activists of the Frente Polisario, summoned its ambassador in Madrid on Saturday to show its discontent.

“The Spanish government previously informed the Algerian about Spain's position in relation to the Sahara,” a former Spanish colony, government sources said Saturday night.

“For Spain, Algeria is a strategic, priority and reliable partner with whom we intend to maintain a privileged relationship,” they added.

Spain had always advocated neutrality between Morocco and the Sahrawi independentists in relation to the disputed territory of Western Sahara.

This 180-degree turn will allow a normalization of relations between Spain and Morocco following the diplomatic crisis that broke out in April 2021, when Madrid allowed the leader of the Frente Polisario, Brahim Ghali, a sworn enemy of Rabat, to arrive on the peninsula to be hospitalized by covid-19.

The height of the crisis took place in May 2021, when thousands of migrants forced entry into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in northern Morocco, thanks to a relaxed border surveillance on the Moroccan side.

The conflict in Western Sahara, considered a “Non-Self-Governing Territory” by the UN, has for decades opposed Morocco with the Frente Polisario, supported by Algeria.

Rabat, which controls about 80% of this territory, proposes a plan of autonomy under its sovereignty. The independentists are calling for a self-determination referendum organized by the UN, scheduled for the 1991 ceasefire, which never took place.

mg/du/it