© EUROPA PRESS
Sanchez, Mohamed VI and Tebboune
Algeria and Spain face turbulence in their diplomatic relations After several decades united by an excellent link due to the new Spanish position regarding the conflict of the Occidental Saharain which it has positioned itself in favor of the proposal for Morocco that strips the Saharawi people of the idea of being an independent territory without prior consultation.
The good harmony between the two nations has always been backed by the agreements between the two countries to supply Algerian gas to the Spanish state and, above all, for maintaining a similar position regarding the conflict Western Sahara, an issue that now appears as the main obstacle to overcome in order to maintain harmony between states.
Algerian reaction to the announcement
The statement from the Government of Pedro Sanchez and the Royal Cabinet this Friday has left the Algerian authorities “very surprised”, and they have opted for “convene consultations with its ambassador in Madrid with immediate effect,” as reported in a note issued by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Before the official version of Algiers was made public regarding Spain’s decision to support the Moroccan plan, Algerian diplomatic sources already criticized this Spanish determination, considering it its “second historical betrayal of the Saharawi people”. Thus, they have recalled that the first occurred after ceding what was their colony to Morocco and Mauritania in November 1975 through the signing of the Madrid Agreements.
“Finally Morocco has gotten what it wanted from Spain“, pointed out the same source, since it is the first time since the beginning of the conflict that a Spanish government reaches out to Rabat to lend its support in its intentions regarding the Sahara.
First rudeness from Spain to Algiers
This new controversy represents the second rudeness of the Sánchez Executive to Algeria, since barely a month has passed since the Algerian administration informed the Government in a warning tone that under no circumstances could it send its gas to Morocco.
This warning from Algiers came after Spain declared in early February that would lend its aid to Rabat to guarantee its energy security through the regasification in our country of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) acquired by the Moroccan country to later transfer it to its borders through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME).
It should be remembered that the relations between Algeria and Morocco are completely broken since August 2021, to such an extent that the nation stopped moving its gas to Europe through the GME to avoid Rabat’s participation, for which Moroccans received some 800 million cubic meters of natural gas and approximately 200 million euros per year as commissions for the passage of gas through its territory.
What will happen now with the gas supply?
Algeria is the Spain’s main gas supplier and, consequently, a debate is opened with the war in ukraine background on what is going to happen from now on with the supply.
Regarding this, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albareswithout specifying whether Sánchez’s change of position had been previously communicated to Algiers, has downplayed the concern, since “Algeria has repeatedly shown that it is a reliable partner”.
This is proven by the fact that a month after announcing his break with Rabat, Algiers confirmed to Albares during a trip to the capital that the supply to Spain would continue through the Medgaz gas pipeline, and that the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, travel to Algeria in the days prior to the end of the contract for the supply of gas through the GME.
The last contact between both nations in this regard took place this same month of March. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, reaffirmed through a telephone conversation their desire to strengthen energy cooperation, a gesture by which the PSOE leader described the country as a “reliable energy partner” .