Spain’s Foreign Minister Denies Morocco’s Involvement in Phone Hacking, Rejects Blackmail

José Manuel Albares assured that "there is no fact that proves" that Morocco is behind the hacking of the mobile phones of Pedro Sanchez and Margarita Robles, the Minister of Defense, insisting that it is an "external agent" who could well not be a country.

To read: Spanish Party Calls for Review of Morocco Relations Amid Pegasus Spyware Allegations

According to the Spanish official, who has defended Morocco, the two countries, after a long and serious crisis, have just begun a "new stage" in their diplomatic relations, based on trust, mutual respect and the absence of unilateral decisions. "It was not a foreign country, but an external agent, external to the institutions of the State," he argued, calling for avoiding any speculation on such a serious matter.

As advantages of the normalization of relations with Morocco, Albares recalled the preparations for Operation Marhaba, currently being finalized with Morocco, and the imminent reopening of the border with Ceuta and Melilla, in an "orderly, gradual and strategic" manner.