Spain Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sahara Plan, Straining Algeria Relations

The Spanish Prime Minister, accompanied by his Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, were in Rabat on Wednesday where they were received in audience by King Mohammed VI. According to a statement from the Royal Palace, issued after this meeting which lasted about forty minutes, Pedro Sanchez reiterated on this occasion Spain’s position on the Sahara, stressing that the Moroccan autonomy plan is "the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute".

Sanchez had expressed this position for the first time in the letter addressed to Mohammed VI in March 2022, which had helped to end the long diplomatic crisis between the two countries and establish a new "roadmap" for their relations on April 7, 2022 in Rabat, recalls Europa Press. During the audience, Sanchez also "welcomed and showed Spain’s interest in the strategic initiatives launched by the King, in particular the royal initiative to facilitate the access of the Sahel countries to the Atlantic, as well as the Nigeria-Morocco transnational gas pipeline," the royal statement said.

This new stance of Spain has not failed to irritate Algeria, an ally of the Polisario in the conflict in the Sahara, and which also plans to build a gas pipeline with Nigeria via Niger. With this visit, Sanchez has "gone even further in his support for Morocco" regarding the Sahara, comments "Tout sur l’Algérie", stressing that this is the first time the Spanish government has officially expressed itself on these projects crossing Sahrawi territories. "Without getting anything from Morocco so far, the Spanish government has taken the risk of bringing the crisis with Algeria back to square one," the media analyzes.

The day after Spain’s change of position on the Sahara in 2022, Algeria had recalled its ambassador in Madrid and suspended its trade exchanges with Spain. Last December, Algeria appointed a new ambassador in Madrid and authorized the resumption of trade exchanges in January, leading to believe in the beginning of a easing of tensions. But the last-minute cancellation of José Manuel Albares’ visit to Algiers on February 12 gives reason to believe that Algeria is still hard on Spain.