Criticized by Westerners for an alleged tropism for Russia with which it has historical relations, Algeria reiterates its “attachment” to its policy of non-alignment, the main fundamental of its diplomacy.
“Our relations with Russia are not exclusive of all quality relations [and] friendship with other countries,” Algerian foreign minister Ahmed Attaf said in an interview with Al-Monitor, a site based on in Washington and dedicated to current affairs in the Middle East.
Maintaining its policy of “non-alignment” while remaining aloof from Western sanctions against Moscow after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Algeria has increased its gas deliveries to European Union countries that have decided to reduce their dependence on Russian gas.
A neutrality which did not however protect him from pressure. In October 2022, a US congressional group sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expressing concerns about Algeria’s growing ties with Russia and calling for sanctions against Algerian government officials for an arms deal with Moscow.
But as with other conflicts, Algeria favors a “political solution” within the framework of the United Nations. ” How this is done is another matter,” remarked Ahmed Attaf, stressing the absence of any concrete proposal to ” manage the Ukrainian crisis politically, at least as far as we are concerned .”
The head of the Algerian diplomacy revealed that the Algerian mediation offer was accepted by Russia and that Algeria is “always working to convince Ukraine to respond to this ”. Incidentally, Ahmed Attaf did not fail to regret a form of intransigence from kyiv.
Ahmed Attaf: no compromise on Algeria’s interests
But despite criticism and pressure, Algeria is obviously not ready to sacrifice its relationship with Russia, with which it recently signed a ” declaration of strategic partnership ” following Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s visit to Moscow. in June. Russia is Algeria’s main arms supplier.
Ahmed Attaf recalled that the Americans, whom he described as ” friends “, understand that the relationship between Algeria and Russia which has existed for 60 years ” cannot be abolished immediately “. A large part of Algeria’s armament needs come from Russia and the rest from other countries such as the United Kingdom, France, the United States, or even Germany and China.
Ahmed Attaf has clearly said that Algeria ” cannot understand ” its ” essential needs ” and its ” security and defense concerns “. He pointed out that “ no country ” has given up buying Russian military equipment because of Western sanctions against Russia.
“ The dialogue on defense and security issues, the diversification of our military equipment is treated very discreetly with our American partners, and it is proceeding normally,” he said, stressing that Algerian-American relations are at a ” turning point “.
The head of the Algerian diplomacy explained that relations between the United States and Algeria have clearly developed “over the past two years in terms of political dialogue “, as evidenced by the large number of American officials who come to Algeria.
More generally, Algeria defends its relations with partners “ ready to meet its needs ”. “ If it’s China, it’s China. If it’s Russia, it’s Russia. If it’s the United States, it’s the United States. The most important thing is our national interest,” said Attaf, as if to remove any ambiguity.
