Spanish Government Addresses Upside-Down Flag Incident at Moroccan Royal Dinner

"Given that it was a private space, it was not possible for the Spanish protocol to carry out the prior inspection visit to verify the layout of the room, despite the insistence of the team," explained the Spanish Executive to parliament. In terms of "private space," the government is referring to the suites of the Moroccan monarch’s private residence, while praising this "gesture of greater friendship and proximity."

The error was not noticed during the evening, but after the publication of the official photos of the event on social media, recalls La Razon. "After the dinner, and noting the error, the Moroccan royal service apologized and stated that it was an unintentional error," the government adds in its response to the lower house of parliament.

President Pedro Sanchez will appear before Congress this week to report on the case of the hacking of his phone and those of the Defense and Interior ministers using the Pegasus spyware. The Spanish intelligence services suspect Morocco of being behind these attacks, the dates of which coincide with the beginning of the diplomatic crisis in May 2021.