Former Spanish Foreign Minister Alleges Phone Tapping Amid Morocco Diplomatic Crisis

Sacrificed by her government in an attempt to appease Morocco after the reception of Brahim Ghali in a hospital in Logroño, Arancha González Laya says she has no regrets. According to her, it was a "humanitarian decision towards a Spanish citizen who needed immediate assistance". "Humanitarian aid has a long tradition in our foreign policy... It is part of our identity...", she said in an interview with El Periodico de España.

However, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs deplored the way this "humanitarian aid" was perceived or received. "Everything has served in this crisis to blur this humanitarian aid. And when I say everything, it’s everything: telephone tappings, complaints, campaigns, including press campaigns. It’s quite obvious. For me, it’s a chapter that belongs to the past," said Gonzales Laya.

To read: Spanish Intelligence Confirms Former Foreign Minister’s Phone Hacked Amid Morocco Crisis

The official nevertheless insists on Spain’s "ability" to conduct its foreign policy in an "autonomous" manner, "always seeking to maintain the best relations with its neighbors: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Senegal, Mauritania and many others. We all need each other." She also denounces "the judicialization of politics and the growing politicization of justice" in Spain.

Arancha Gonzales Laya has no doubt about the "Spanishness" of Ceuta and Melilla. For her, it is "very clear" that the two autonomous cities "have been and are part of Spain". Regarding the crisis with Algeria, she hopes it will not have an impact on Spain’s gas supply. On the Sahara, she recalled that over "the past two years, several countries like the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, have spoken out in favor of the Moroccan plan".