Spain Seeks Balance in Relations with Morocco and Algeria, Foreign Minister Says

"I reaffirm my commitment to Algeria and the Algerian government and I reiterate our willingness to have the best relations with them," said Albares, stressing that this relationship "is not incompatible with good relations with Morocco".

The spokeswoman for the Popular Party (PP) in the Congress, Valentina Martínez, criticized the government for having opened a crisis with Algeria by deciding to support the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, which it considers as the "most serious, realistic and credible" basis for resolving the conflict. In reaction to this change in Spain’s position, Algeria recalled its ambassador to Madrid for consultations, recalls EFE.

To read: Spain-Algeria Relations Strained as Sanchez Backs Morocco’s Western Sahara Plan

The government had assured that this crisis with Algeria, one of its main gas suppliers, would not affect Spain’s regular supply. But, Algeria recently announced that it would raise the price of gas sold to Spain, the PP pointed out, accusing the government of "deception and lies".

In response to these criticisms from the PP, Minister Albares reiterated that Algeria "is a safe and reliable partner" with whom Spain wants to maintain the "best relations", while specifying, however, that the normalization of relations with Morocco offers many advantages to Spain such as the reopening of maritime borders and the upcoming reopening of the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, the reactivation of the working group on the delimitation of territorial waters, etc.