Spanish soldiers deployed in Ceuta and Melilla, and those who have served in the garrisons of the Al Hoceima rock and the Chaffarines islands, fear that the government of Pedro Sanchez, in its dynamic of appeasement of tensions with Morocco, will cede them to the kingdom.
The Russian ambassador to Algeria, Igor Belyaev, deplored the abrupt change in Spain’s position on the Sahara, recalling that it has a "historical responsibility" towards the Sahrawi people, that of completing the decolonization process.
The former Spanish Prime Minister, Felipe González, supported his country’s new position on the Sahara, considering the Moroccan autonomy initiative as "the best solution" to definitively settle the regional dispute.
Relations between Morocco and Spain are normalizing. After Spain’s change of position on the Sahara, King Mohammed VI has invited Pedro Sanchez to make a visit to Rabat in the coming days and would be ready to authorize the return of minors who arrived en masse in Ceuta in May last year.
The spokesperson for the PSOE parliamentary group, Hector Gomez, assured that his party will seek to negotiate an agreement with the opposition before the presentation to Congress, on Tuesday, of the bill by Podemos, ERC and Bildu on the self-determination of the Sahara.
During his short trip to Algeria, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was unable to discuss with President Abdelmajid Tebboune the crucial issue of the reopening of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline crossing Morocco.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, will make an official visit to Morocco next week. It will mark the beginning of "a new stage in relations" between the two countries, after Spain’s change on the Sahara .
Algeria is considering raising the prices of gas sales to Spain, after the latter declared its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara .
The Madrid-born Moroccan, Amin Hachimi (9-0, 6 KO) has been the new Spanish welterweight champion since Friday. He won his fight against Aarón Alhambra (11-1, 3 KO) after ten rounds.
José Manuel Albares, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, will not come to Rabat this Friday, April 1st, to meet his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita as planned. This meeting has been canceled due to the upcoming visit of the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, to Morocco. The head of Spanish diplomacy will be part of the delegation.
King Mohammed VI had a telephone conversation with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, according to a statement from the Royal Cabinet.
The government spokeswoman, Isabel Rodriguez, reiterated on Thursday the government’s satisfaction with having changed its position on the Sahara, stressing that this decision aims to defend the interests of Spaniards in general and of Ceuta, Melilla, the Canary Islands and Andalusia in particular.