Former Spanish Foreign Minister: Morocco-Spain Crisis "Overcome" After Polisario Leader Incident

In an interview with El Espanol, the former Spanish Foreign Minister said he did not understand "the motivations" that led Arancha González Laya to welcome the Polisario Front leader without warning Morocco.

"The important thing is to understand the context and the reasons behind what Ms. Laya did. I don’t have the details of what happened. I don’t know why she did that. Except that between Morocco and Spain, there must be transparency and trust," he argued.

In the Brahim Ghali affair, he conceded, "there was neither transparency nor trust. With Morocco, we must communicate and dialogue."

For the record, Moratinos’ positions on the Sahara issue had contributed to starting a new chapter in Moroccan-Spanish relations. In April 2006, he did not hesitate to openly criticize, from the Senate tribune, the creation in 1976 of the "SADR", stating that it contravenes the principle of self-determination.