John Kerry rides in Lausanne./ Photo: Courtsy US Mission in Geneva via Flickr
Gemma Rodríguez Betrián. Madrid.
The cancellation of the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip to Spain puts on hold the signing of the amendments to the defence agreement between Spain and the United States. The agreement will turn Morón de la Frontera into a permanent base for US forces, for their interventions in Africa and the Sahel.
The head of US Diplomacy was forced to cancel his trip to Madrid yesterday, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, due to breaking his right femur in a cycling accident this weekend in the French locality of Scionzier. According to sources from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs consulted by The Diplomat, there has not been a date set for the signing of the amendment protocol to the agreement between the two countries, which was the main reason for the trip, prior to it being passed on to Parliament.
John Kerry had planned to meet, yesterday in Madrid, with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel García-Margallo, with whom he was then going to have a working dinner. Today, he was to meet with King Felipe VI and the Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy. The secretary of state “profoundly” laments the cancellation of his trip to Spain to meet with “one of his country’s closes allies”, according to a communiqué issued yesterday by the US Embassy in Madrid.
The cycling accident suffered by the US Secretary of State prevented him from travelling to Madrid and Paris
Kerry also lamented the cancellation of his trip to Paris. After his stay in Madrid, the head of US Diplomacy was to travel to the French capital to take part in the Ministerial meeting of the anti-ISIL coalition, which is taking place tomorrow. Due to his convalescence, he will take part “remotely” through video conference, according to the same sources.
The Secretary of State returned yesterday to Boston, given that, the US Embassy in Spain informed, “the injury is close to the area affected by recent hip surgery”, so it has been decided that treatment should be continued at the Massachusets General Hospital, with the team that carried out the previous surgery.
