Former Spanish Foreign Minister Urges Rethink on Western Sahara Policy

"Spain must reconsider its position on the Sahara in the new geopolitical context, after the decision of the United States to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces," declared the former head of Spanish diplomacy on the Atalayar program on Capital Radio.

For the former minister, the Spanish government has turned its back on the evolution of the international context following the American decision, stressing that Rabat and Washington maintain a very special relationship because the kingdom was the first country to recognize the United States.

"When the world was divided in two, Morocco’s great ally was the United States," he recalled before reiterating his fervent wish to see the Sanchez government adapt to the new context. "The international geopolitical situation has changed and the government of Pedro Sanchez is failing to draw the lessons from these changes," regretted the one who led Spanish diplomacy between 2011 and 2016.

Recalling the kidnapping of two Spanish and one Italian aid workers in a "terrorist attack" in the Tindouf camps while he was in office, José Manuel Garcia-Margallo points to the risks of the creation of a pseudo-state in the region.

According to the former minister, the current leaders must be realistic. Indeed, explains Margallo, Morocco has regained its place within the African Union, several Arab and African countries have opened consulates in the cities of Dakhla and Laâyoune, and others are considering doing so.
"When circumstances change, we must change. We must adapt to the new context. This is a problem we must solve," he concluded.