Spain Seeks Diplomatic Discretion to Mend Strained Relations with Morocco

"At this stage, the restoration of a normal relationship requires a space for discretion. [...] I would like to maintain diplomatic discretion, because it is the characteristic of a mature relationship. We want to have a mature relationship with Morocco, even in the event of disagreements," said the Spanish Foreign Minister in an interview with La Razón. She assured that "there have been conversations with different people at different levels".

When asked about the role that King Felipe could play in thawing the crisis, Arancha González Laya indicated that "the king has an important role in our international relations". "If the question is what will be the strategy of the Spanish government, with whom it will activate it and when it will do so, I think it is better to follow something that is very important to me, which is discreet diplomacy," she added. According to the Spanish diplomat, the Spanish government was not aware that the emergency admission of the Polisario leader Brahim Ghali to a hospital in Logroño, under the borrowed name of Mohamed Ben Battouche, of Algerian nationality for "humanitarian reasons" would provoke new tensions between the two countries.

"We never wanted a conflict. We never look for it. We don’t want it. And we certainly don’t feed it. What we want, and this is how I have conveyed it to the ambassador [Karima] Benyaich, is to look to the future [...] We did not create this conflict and we do not want to maintain it. And we will continue to work on this line," defended Arancha González Laya. "If the question is that with this humanitarian gesture, Spain takes sides in the Western Sahara dispute, the answer from the government is no. Spain has not changed its position," she justified. She says she finds it hard to conceive that a "humanitarian gesture" would provoke a migration crisis.

On Thursday, the influx of migrants ceased at the border in Ceuta, but the diplomatic tensions between the two countries are not subsiding. Spain accused Morocco of "aggression" and "blackmail". "Morocco is not engaging in blackmail, Morocco is clear about its positions, its actions and its attitude," Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, replied in a statement to MAP. "If there is a crisis between Morocco and Spain, it is because Madrid has deemed, in a sovereign manner, to maneuver with an enemy of the kingdom on a major issue for Moroccans," he added.