Algeria Recalls Ambassador to Spain Over Western Sahara Policy Shift

"Very surprised by the statements of the highest Spanish authorities regarding the Western Sahara issue, the Algerian authorities, surprised by this sudden reversal of position of the former administering power of Western Sahara, have decided to recall their ambassador to Madrid for consultations with immediate effect," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad said in a statement.

On Friday, Spain ended nearly a year of major diplomatic rift over the Western Sahara issue by changing its position. In a statement, the royal palace said that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, had indicated that the Moroccan "autonomy" plan for the Sahara is "the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the dispute".

Algeria sees this change of position on the Sahara in a bad light, calling it a "second historic betrayal of the Sahrawi people by Madrid after the ill-fated 1975 agreement".