Algeria suspends its friendship treaty with Spain hours after the debate in which Sánchez avoided citing the Algerians

Algiers culminates with this gesture the pulse that began with the withdrawal of its ambassador due to the turn on the Sahara

MADRID, 8 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Government of Algeria has announced the suspension of the Treaty of Friendship with Spain hours after the debate held in the Congress of Deputies in which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, had to speak about the consequences that his turn regarding the Sahara has generated in its relations with Algiers. During his intervention, Sánchez omitted any reference to Algeria, a country that in the afternoon took another step in breaking off relations with Spain.

Algeria proceeded automatically to call its ambassador in Madrid for consultations on March 19 after Morocco disclosed Sánchez's letter to King Mohamed VI in which he argued that the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara was "the basis more solid, credible and realistic" to resolve the conflict.

Since then, the Government has made discretion its maxim and has avoided, as it did during the diplomatic crisis with Morocco, doing anything that could make Algeria, the main gas exporter to Spain, even more uncomfortable, at least until recently and repeating as a mantra that it is "a solid and reliable partner" and that it complies with its energy agreements.

Perhaps for this very reason, the president has chosen not to make any allusion to the situation of the relationship with Algeria during the more than five hours that the debate in Congress has lasted, in which, despite the issue of the Sahara and Morocco has finally been secondary.

However, some of the parliamentary spokesmen have reminded the president of the ambassador's call for consultations or the threat of raising the price of gas to Spain made by the president of the national hydrocarbon company, Sonatrach, but Sánchez has not taken the hint .

This has not prevented the harsh statement that came hours later from Algiers. In it, the Algerian Presidency announces the "immediate" suspension of the friendship treaty signed with Spain almost two decades ago in retaliation for its "unjustifiable" support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara.

Algiers criticizes the Government for its campaign to argue a political turn that, in his opinion, supposes a "violation of the legal, moral and political obligations" by Spain, which it considers that it continues to be the "administrating power" of Western Sahara.

In this sense, the Algerian Presidency disfigures the support of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez to an "illegal and illegitimate formula" such as the autonomy proposed from Rabat, which proposes a colonial policy of "fait accomplis" through "false arguments".

For its part, the Spanish government has regretted the step taken by the Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebune. Diplomatic sources have made it clear that the Government considers Algeria "a neighboring and friendly country" and maintains "its full availability to continue maintaining and developing the special cooperative relations between the two countries, for the benefit of both peoples."

Likewise, they have stated that Spain maintains its "full commitment to the content" of the Treaty, signed in 2002, and "to the principles that inform it", included in the preamble and among which the sources have cited that of "sovereign equality of States, non-interference in internal affairs and respect for the inalienable right of peoples to dispose of themselves".

The treaty provides for the holding of a High-Level Meeting on an annual basis, although the last one was held in 2018, in addition to gathering the desire for cooperation in other areas such as economics, defense, the fight against terrorism or culture.

The step taken by Algiers, which is in no way equivalent to a break in relations, is the culmination, at least for now, of the gestures and messages that the Maghreb country has been making to show its disagreement.

Algeria requested "prior and frank clarifications" from the Government before sending its ambassador back, since confidence has been damaged by Spanish support for the Moroccan plan, which Algeria, as the main supporter of the Polisario Front, considers a betrayal of the Saharawis.

In addition, Tebune was very tough, in particular with Sánchez, whom he accused of having "broken everything, not Spain." In his opinion, "what Spain has done is unacceptable, ethically and historically." Despite this, he assured that his country would fulfill its commitment to supply gas to Spain, after Sonatrach warned that prices could be raised, something that is being renegotiated with Spanish companies.

Another factor that has contributed to further clouding the spirits has been the Government's decision to help Morocco face its gas supply problems, after Algeria decided, after breaking off relations in the summer, to interrupt the supply of gas to the Peninsula through the GME gas pipeline, which crossed through Moroccan territory, in November.

Its Minister of Energy, Mohamed Arkab, warned at the end of April that he would break the gas supply contract to Spain if part of what he sends to the country is diverted to another destination, after the third vice president, Teresa Ribera, informed him that Spain is going to proceed to authorize the reverse flow of the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline (GME) to send Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) acquired by Rabat and regasified in Spain.

If part of the natural gas sent by Algeria to Spain has a "destination that is not foreseen in the contracts" then it will be considered as "a breach of contractual commitments and, therefore, could lead to the termination of the contract that binds Sonatrach with its Spanish clients," warned Argel.

It remains to be seen how Algeria's decision will affect it in practice, since Spain maintains very close relations with the Maghreb country in everything related to the fight against immigration and also against terrorism.

In these months, the Government has stated that this cooperation is maintained, but in recent days there has been a rebound in the arrival of small boats to the Spanish coasts, in particular to the Balearic Islands, which could have their origin in Algeria .