Blinken Skirts Gas Pipeline Issue During Algeria Visit Amid Energy Concerns

Blinken had already avoided addressing the issue during his trip to Rabat. Invited by the television channel Medi1, he evaded the question on the need to reactivate the Maghreb-Europe (GME) gas pipeline linking Algeria to Spain via Morocco, reports El Mundo.

During his visit to Algiers on Wednesday, he did not try to convince President Abdelmajid Tebboune to reverse his decision to close the GME, according to Algerian diplomatic sources. "Blinken did not raise the issue of reopening the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline," said Amar Belani, the Algerian ambassador in charge of the Sahara issue.

For the Spanish media, this stance is justified by the fact that the United States has become Spain’s leading gas supplier, ahead of Algeria, after the closure of this pipeline with a capacity of 14 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The Medgaz, which directly connects Algeria to Spain, with a lower capacity (8 billion cubic meters per year), does not allow Algeria to meet Spanish demand, forcing it to supply the country by ship.

Algeria has announced that it will review all its trade agreements with Spain, in reaction to Spain’s decision to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara, considered the most "serious, realistic and credible" solution to the conflict in the Sahara.