Sanchez doubles down on Western sahara position amid Algerian discontentment

Spanish President Pedro Sanchez addressed the Spanish parliament on Wednesday doubling down on his government’s decision to support Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, an issue that Spain remained neutral on for decades.

“The path we have taken now is that of real politics,” assures the President, describing the Moroccan proposed autonomy plan as “the most credible, serious and realistic” solution to the conflict.

Faced with the legislative’s “outrage” at their exclusion from this significant shift in Spain’s foreign policy, Sanchez has flatly denied that his government has brought about a turnaround in relation to the Western Sahara conflict.

Sanchez told parliament that “Spain maintains its support of Morocco, without nuances, to defend the interests of Spain.”

Sanchez stated that “all UN resolutions also recognize Morocco’s autonomy plan,” and that Spain is voicing support as the plan will be conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.

The head of the Spanish government has affirmed that this is precisely the right moment to make the new Spanish position explicit because just now, he said, is when “a window of opportunity” is open.

Neighborly fury

Algeria has said it is going to carry out “a review” of all the agreements it has with Spain, in response to the historic change of position of the Madrid government with regard to Western Sahara.

Chakib Kaid, secretary-general of the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ruled out that there will be immediate consequences in Algeria’s sale of gas and oil to Spain. But the official did not rule out the non-renewal of current contracts when they expire.

Currently, Algeria can’t cut its supply to Spain, as the accords don’t expire until 2030. “It is clear that Algeria is going to review all the agreements with Spain, in all areas, to see how the relationship develops in the future,” Kaid told Spanish newspaper El Correo on Monday.

Kaïd reiterated that his government “has not been informed” of Pedro Sanchez’s decision to support the Moroccan initiative, despite Spanish diplomatic sources ensuring it was.

“We are very surprised by this unexplained turn of events (…) I speak of surprise and a great disappointment for Algeria,” he said.

The Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not close the door to possible appeasement of relations between the two countries, conditioned by the “Spanish friends take the necessary steps in this direction,” hinting at the retraction of the support to the Moroccan autonomy plan.

Spanish news outlet El Confidenciel quoted an anonymous official Algerian source on March 25, saying that Algeria is exploring a gas deal partnership with Italy, as a new medium to supplying Europe with gas.

Algerian anger towards Spain’s decision on Western Sahara was in full force since the first announcement, shortly after which Algiers called back its ambassador to the Iberian peninsula for consultations.