Policy change by Madrid has unleashed an angry response from gas-rich Algeria.
March 23rd, 2022. Published by POLITICO
MADRID — A shift in policy on Western Sahara has triggered a sudden reconfiguration of Spain’s turbulent relationship with its North African neighbors while raising questions about energy supply.
The Spanish government of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has ended nearly five decades of neutrality on the issue by backing Morocco’s 2007 proposal that Western Sahara should be granted autonomous status, albeit under the North African country’s control. In a letter to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, Sánchez described the plan as “the most serious, credible and realistic basis for the resolution of this disagreement.”
Morocco has claimed sovereignty of the former Spanish colony, which is about the size of the U.K., since 1975. Until now, Spain, in line with the United Nations, had called for the Saharawi people to decide their own future via a referendum. The new language used by Madrid marks a subtle but significant revision of its stance. (See article)
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