Albares maintains that Spain "has left through the front door" of the crisis with Morocco

He affirms that Spain will not say "to the other countries what they have to do" about Ukraine at the summit in Sant Domingo

BARCELONA, 24 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has maintained that Spain "has left the crisis with Morocco through the front door", after the government's turn in its position regarding the Sahara by supporting the autonomy plan Moroccan over this territory.

"We have overcome a deep crisis and we have established the bases so that it does not happen again," Albares assured in an interview with the newspaper 'Ara' collected by Europa Press, adding that Spain and Morocco have laid new bases of respect and mutual benefit .

Thus, he stressed that trade relations between the two countries are at all-time highs, with 20,000 million euros of bilateral trade and 12,000 million in exports: "Only the US and the United Kingdom are our better customers outside the European Union ".

He also highlighted the Moroccan investment plan in Spanish companies worth 45,000 million euros and the joint fight against human trafficking mafias and jihadist terrorism, with six networks dismantled in recent months "thanks to the joint work of the police forces ".

Albares has detailed that there is an agreed schedule to complete the reopening of commercial customs with Morocco: "It is not made public because we do not want avalanches, we do not want images of the past to be repeated, of atypical trade."

The minister has defended having "the best relations with those countries with which a common border is shared", something that he believes applies to Algeria as well as Morocco.

"With Algeria we want exactly the same as with all our neighbours: a relationship based on friendship, respect and mutual benefit, on non-interference in internal affairs", he assured.

He has maintained that "from the first minute" Spain has extended its hand to Algeria, which they recognize for its role as a reliable gas supplier, in his words; However, that does not prevent Spain from defending its companies and its interests, he pointed out.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, he has affirmed that it is "the war of a single country" and of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and that neither Spain nor the European Union are part of it even though they defend respect for the ONY Charter and the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Asked if this means that Ukraine should recover Crimea, now under Russian rule, Albares replied that it implies that it recovers "all the territory within its internationally legally recognized borders."

Before the Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo, he assured that Spain does not tell "other governments what they have to do" about the war in Ukraine, after the majority of Latin American countries have chosen not to export weapons --Spain yes he sent it--.

"But we are talking about defending international legality," added Albares, who announced this Thursday that Spain has made several proposals on the war in the final declaration of the Ibero-American Summit, which begins this Friday in Santo Domingo.

Regarding Venezuela, the minister has assured that he sees the political process underway in the country with hope and that the Government supports the dialogue between Venezuelans, and has opted for "reaching a political agreement" after the agreement to face the crisis humanitarian with the opposition.