Spain’s Support for Morocco’s Sahara Plan Reignites Tensions with Algeria

While Algeria was returning to better feelings after two years of crisis caused by Spain’s change of position on the Sahara, Pedro Sanchez, with this visit to Rabat on February 21, has destroyed the efforts made in recent months to resume relations between the two countries. Algeria has recently appointed a new ambassador to Madrid and authorized the resumption of trade in certain products, as well as flights, showing its willingness to appease tensions with Spain, notes El Independiente.

"There will be no more concessions or favors," warn Algerian sources, estimating that Pedro Sanchez has betrayed the trust of the Algerian authorities. During the press conference given after the tête-à-tête with Mohammed VI, the Spanish Prime Minister reiterated his support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, which did not fail to irritate Algeria. But what has further annoyed the Algerian authorities is Sanchez’s support for the royal initiative to facilitate the access of Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Nigeria-Morocco transnational gas pipeline project.

Speaking on the Sahara issue at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, Pedro Sanchez said that Spain is "in favor of a mutually acceptable solution by the parties, based on the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolutions." A statement appreciated at its true value by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who saw it as the beginning of a reversal of Spain’s position.

Now, "Algerian-Spanish relations have entered a phase of cold war," confided to the Spanish media a source close to the Algerian authorities. Moreover, the last-minute cancellation of the visit to Algiers of the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has contributed significantly to the loss of confidence of Algeria. "As long as the Sánchez government remains in power, relations will not improve," the Algerian authorities had argued. According to them, Sanchez’s recent visit to Rabat "has only poured oil on the fire."