Friday, March 29

The Moroccan ambassador returns to Madrid after Spain’s change of position on the Sahara


The Moroccan ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, has returned to Madrid after her withdrawal from the country in mid-May 2021, Europa Press has learned.

Sánchez gives a swerve to Spain’s position with the Sahara and opens a new gap with United We Can

Know more

Last year, the Moroccan government called its ambassador in Madrid for consultations, after the diplomatic crisis opened by the reception in Spain of the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, which was aggravated by the entry of thousands of migrants in Ceuta from Morocco .

The Moroccan ambassador has returned to Spain after the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, changed his position on Western Sahara by endorsing his autonomy plan to find a solution to the conflict as a “serious and credible base”.

“It is a pleasure to return to work in Madrid and strengthen relations between Spain and Morocco, as our respective countries have determined,” said Benyaich shortly after landing in the Spanish capital, according to Efe.

The return of the Moroccan ambassador comes two days after Spain announced that it supports the Moroccan proposal for autonomy for the Sahara, considering it the “most serious, realistic and credible” basis for resolving the conflict.

Algeria calls its ambassador for consultations

However, after Sánchez’s change of position on his position in relation to Western Sahara, the Algerian Executive has called his ambassador in Madrid, Said Musi, for consultations with “immediate” effect. In a statement, the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains that it has been “very surprised” by the support for Morocco’s autonomy project.

Algeria believes that the decision of the Spanish Government is Madrid’s “second historical betrayal” of the Saharawi people, according to diplomatic sources cited by the Algerian news portal TSA and collected by Europa Press. “Finally, Morocco has obtained what it wanted from Spain”, said these diplomatic sources. It refers to the second “betrayal” because the first would be the agreement signed on November 14, 1975 by which Spain ceded the former colony to Morocco and Mauritania, without taking into account the will of the Saharawi population.

Sources from the Spanish Government assure that the Algerian Executive was previously informed about the decision, which they consider a “strategic, priority and reliable partner”. In an interview published by The reasonthe Minister for Territorial Policy and spokesperson for the Government of Spain, Isabel Rodríguez, has defended Spain’s pact with Morocco.

Rodríguez has called for evaluating the agreement as “excellent news” for the “opening of a new stage in relations between Spain and Morocco”. “Opening this new scenario guarantees the necessary stability. We have reached mutual commitments and their fulfillment: among them, the absence of unilateral actions and maintaining fluid and frank communication to continue reinforcing the management of migratory flows. The key will be cooperation”, he celebrated.

Criticism from government and opposition partners

Given the requests for explanations for this turn, he has assured that the Executive will give explanations to all the political groups and that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, will appear in Congress. The opposition has criticized the swerve that Sánchez has given in foreign policy. The PP qualifies it as an “unexpected turn”. For the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, the change in the government’s position is an “absolutely disastrous” decision.

For its part, Ciudadanos will request the appearance of Sánchez in Congress to give explanations on this matter. In this way, it joins the parliamentary groups of EH Bildu, ERC, CUP, BNG, PNV, Junts, Pdecat, Más País, Compromis, Nueva Canarias and Canarian Coalition that have already announced that they are going to register a request to appear this Monday of the President of the Government.

Sánchez’s associates have also criticized Spain’s change of position on the Sahara. The spokesperson for Podemos, Isa Serra, has questioned the PSOE for trying to defend the Human Rights of the Ukrainians while “delivering” those of the Saharawis. For Serra, this turn given by the President of the Government is “unjustifiable” and “is not sustained” because it does not coincide with the position of Spain “as always” with respect to the Sahara, nor with that of the coalition government, that of the electoral program of the PSOE or UN resolutions.



www.eldiario.es