The Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, asked this monday”time” to redirect relations with Algeria after that country suspended the Treaty of Friendship with Spain and the banks of the Maghreb country froze transactions with Spanish companies.
“Everything takes time. Of course, the hand of Spain is stretched out”assured Albares in declarations to the press at the end of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU in Luxembourg.
The head of Spanish diplomacy insisted that “Spain has not taken any measure that affects Algeria or the Algerian citizens and what we want is dialogue, that diplomatic relations be redirected and have with Algeria the relations that we have with all our neighbours”.
However, “what we are not going to do at any time is stop defending the interests of Spain, the interests of our Spanish companies. Let’s give it time,” Albares demanded.
Algeria suspended the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborhood and Cooperation with Spain two weeks agoas a response to the change of the Spanish Government in its traditional position on Western Sahara, supporting the autonomy proposed by Morocco for the former Spanish colony.
In addition, he gave the order to the Algerian banks to suspend payments between Spanish companies and Algerian and the Spanish Executive, according to what Albares said today, which is “verifying” whether or not the transactions have been resumed.
The minister participated today in a Council of Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg in which it was mainly discussed about Ukraineboth about his candidacy to access the EU that Brussels endorsed last week and about the way in which the Twenty-seven can contribute to export grain from the country at war.
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“We consider the opinion issued by the Commission as positive, balanced”Albares stated.
The heads of state and government will decide whether to endorse Ukraine’s candidacy at the summit to be held on Thursday and Friday this week.