Algerian Ambassador Amar Belani responded to Madrid on his accusations concerning Moscow’s involvement in the crisis between Algeria and Spain since March 18.
Relations between Algeria and Spain have clearly deteriorated since the Spanish government’s decision announced on Friday, March 18 to support Morocco’s theses on Western Sahara.
Algeria showed its dissatisfaction by recalling its ambassador to Madrid on March 19 and above all deciding on Wednesday, June 8 to suspend the Treaty of Friendship which has linked the two countries since 2002.
On the same day, a note from the Association of Banks and Financial Institutions (Abef) asked banks to suspend commercial transactions with Spain.
These last two decisions provoked a cascade of reactions from Spanish officials. Spain requested and obtained the support of the European Union. More seriously, she publicly accused Russia of being behind the crisis with Algeria.
In Algiers, recent statements by Spanish ministers have not gone unnoticed. Worse, they have “ruined any chance of normalization” with the government of Pedro Sanchez, according to Amar Belani, a special envoy in charge of the file of Western Sahara and the Maghreb countries, at the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The irresponsible statements made by Minister (Nadia) Calvino and the off-the-cuff remarks by Minister Albares are definitely ruining any chance of normalizing relations with an unreliable government that sinks into lies and headlong rush,” said declared Belani to the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial of this Thursday, June 16.
On June 13, Nadia Calvino, Minister of Economy and Finance declared that Algeria was aligning itself more and more with Russia, thus confirming the remarks lent by the Spanish press to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Albares who accused Algeria for attacking Spain at the ” instigation ” of Russia.
In a global context marked by the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia, the words of the Spanish ministers aim to demonize Algeria in the eyes of Westerners, presenting it as a dangerous ally of the Russians. This Spanish attempt to link the crisis with Algiers to the conflict in Ukraine removes any prospect of reconciliation between the Algerian power and the government of Pedro Sanchez.
Belani with a guard
In addition to his response to the Spanish ministers on the alleged hand of Russia in this crisis, Amar Belani dismantled the Spanish arguments to justify Madrid’s reversal on the question of Western Sahara.
“As for the other officials (Robles and Bau, respectively Minister of Defense and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) who maintain that Spain’s radical new position on the question of Western Sahara is ‘respectful of international law’, they demonstrate a distressing cynicism and blindness”, criticizes Amara Belani.
The Algerian ambassador recalled that international law provides that Western Sahara is a “non-self-governing territory eligible for self-determination in accordance with resolution 1514 of the United Nations General Assembly.
The “final ” status of the territory of Western Sahara, therefore, remains to be “determined under the auspices of the UN”, he added.
“This fact, no denial of Spain can change it because the seal of legitimacy belongs to the UN and to it alone”, explained Amar Belani. But there is more serious, according to him. “More seriously, not only is Spain flouting international law, but it is trampling on European law which has ruled that the Kingdom of Morocco and Western Sahara are two “separate and distinct” territories, thus excluding any Moroccan sovereignty over the territory of Western Sahara”, he recalled.
“How then can we arrogate the right to grant autonomy to a territory over which Morocco exercises no sovereignty? asks the Algerian ambassador”.
Amar Belani also disagrees with Madrid’s claims about the impact of their support for Rabat on regional stability.
For him, the reversal of the government of Pedro Sanchez on the question of Western Sahara will on the “contrary, not only hinder the efforts of Mr. De Mistura (personal envoy of the UN SG for Western Sahara) but also encourage Morocco to persevere in its dangerous expansionist adventure, carrying serious risks of escalation and exacerbation of tension in the region. Spain will also bear the responsibility”, he warned.
