The two ministers during their meeting, yesterday, in Madrid./ Foto: Exteriores
Tamara Fariñas. 26/01/16
The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García-Margallo, and the Argentinian Foreign Relations Minister, Susana Malcorra, yesterday expressed their concern for the situation in Venezuela and both coincided in demanding “dialogue” from Caracas, an indispensable condition to enable it to emerge from the crisis gripping the country.
The Minister said he wished “exactly the same for Venezuela as for Spain”, in other words, human rights, democracy and prosperity, and it was not only the trade relations between the two countries but also the “historical links” that join them that obliged the Spanish Government to interest itself in what is happening in the country. This is why Margallo reminded Caracas that it should set free political prisoners and respect the separation of powers, two essential aspects to be able to progress towards a “dialogue” that would lead to Venezuela emerging from the situation of “economic emergency” in which it now finds itself.
Malcorra expressed herself in exactly the same way, defining Venezuela as a “brother country” and one whose importance is vital, both for bilateral relations and for the stability of the region. “We follow everything that happens in Venezuela very closely”, said the Argentinian minister and insisted that in order to continue relations Argentina should maintain the “principles of democracy, liberties and human rights”. “This is going to be the basis for our interaction and it is with this basis that Macri has shown a certain degree of concern”, she said, before ending with, “Venezuela needs to follow a a road of dialogue and openness”.
[hr style=”single”]
With the new Argentina of Macri, Margallo hopes to leave the YPF crisis behind
[hr style=”single”]
After the meeting between the two ministers, Margallo said he was certain that Madrid and Buenos Aires were initiating a new stage with Macri in which they can”dispel the discrepancies” that Spain had with the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Government, among them the one that emerged after the appropriation of YPF. It is not the first time that Margallo has expressed himself in these terms on the new stage in relations with Argentina as a result of Macri’s victory on 25 December, and both the Argentinian and the Spanish government are in agreement that they must re-establish talks.
“We have agreed, Minister Margallo and I, to re-establish, between the two Governments, the previously established multiple bilateral mechanisms, many of which have been frozen for several years (…) and to discuss matters relating to all our common interests”, said Malcorra, insisting that the links between the two countries will be reinforced. For his part, Margallo lavished praise on his Argentinian counterpart and offered her his friendship wherever “the wind and waves” take them.
