Algeria has decided to recall its ambassador to Madrid with "
immediate effect
" after statements by the head of the Spanish government which, according to Algiers, constitute a "
sudden reversal
" of position on Western Sahara, according to a press release quoted by the media. officials.
Read alsoTension is rising in Western Sahara
Spain, very dependent on supplies of Algerian natural gas, made a radical change of position on this sensitive issue on Friday, publicly supporting Morocco's position on an autonomy plan for Western Sahara for the first time, while that she had always advocated neutrality between Rabat and the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front.
A new position hailed by the Moroccan authorities
"
Very surprised by the declarations of the highest Spanish authorities relating to the Western Sahara file, the Algerian authorities, surprised by this sudden reversal of position of the former administering power of Western Sahara, decided to recall their ambassador to Madrid to consultations with immediate effect
,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Read alsoAlgerian-Moroccan crisis: Western Sahara “is not to be negotiated”, warns the king of Morocco
The head of Spanish diplomacy José Manuel Albares indicated Friday in Barcelona that Spain "
considers the autonomy initiative presented in 2007
" by Morocco, as "
the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of this dispute
" between Rabat and the Polisario.
This new position announced a few hours earlier by Rabat, quoting a message from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, was hailed by the Moroccan authorities as "
constructive commitments
", paving the way for a thaw in bilateral relations.
A major diplomatic quarrel
A major diplomatic quarrel opposed Rabat and Madrid since April 2021 after the reception in Spain to be treated there for the Covid, of the leader of the Polisario Brahim Ghali.
It resulted in the massive arrival in May 2021 of migrants of Moroccan origin in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta (northern Morocco), taking advantage of a relaxation of border surveillance on the Moroccan side.
Read alsoMorocco behind the migratory onslaught of Melilla, Spanish enclave in Africa?
The conflict in Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony considered a "
non-autonomous territory
" by the UN, has pitted Morocco against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, supported by Algiers, for decades.
Rabat, which controls nearly 80% of this territory, proposes an autonomy plan under its sovereignty while the Polisario calls for a self-determination referendum, planned when a ceasefire was signed in 1991, but never materialized.
Algeria supplies more than 40% of the natural gas imported by Spain, most of which reaches it through the Medgaz submarine gas pipeline.