Algeria Vows ’Energetic’ Response to Spain’s Shift on Western Sahara

An Algerian official told the newspaper El Confidencial that Algeria will respond in an "energetic, sovereign and multifaceted" manner against Spain, which has decided to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, considering it the "most serious, realistic and credible" solution to the conflict.

According to the same source, the Algerian authorities, after recalling their ambassador in Madrid, Said Moussi, for consultations, will prefer Italy to Spain to deepen its energy relations with Europe, but will continue to supply Spain with gas, while revising the selling price upwards.

Read: Spain’s Sahara Stance Strains Relations with Algeria, Key Gas Supplier

Algeria will also review its foreign policy and "will direct its relations towards certain partners in southern Europe who have maintained excellent traditional relations with Algiers," said the Algerian official, adding that Algeria will not yield to the pressures of Spain, the United States and France for it to reopen the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, closed since the end of October. Algeria will also suspend flights to Spain, he assured.

For their part, the Spanish authorities, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, have reiterated that "Algeria is a strategic, priority and reliable partner for Spain to whom it provides gas," describing the Algerian response as a "temporary outburst of anger."