Luis Ayllón
On the 4th, the Official State Gazette published the appointment of Ricardo Losa as the new ambassador to Afghanistan, and the dismissal of Gabriel Ferrán from the same post. The events in the country have prevented Losa, who was due to arrive in Kabul in the middle of this week, from taking up his post.
The rapid advance of the Taliban led the government to ask Ferrán to remain in his post for some time, despite his dismissal, but now the government’s plan is for him, his “number two” at the embassy, Paula Sánchez, and the rest of the diplomatic representation’s staff to be evacuated.
In view of this, the Executive decided, logically, that Ricardo Losa would not take up his post, something that would be difficult to do given the difficulties in reaching Kabul.
In any case, the situation of the new ambassador is rather curious and unprecedented. He has been officially appointed, but will not be able to present his Letters of Credence to the Afghan authorities for the time being, after the country has once again fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
A few days ago, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares assured that Spain would not recognise a government imposed by force and condemned “the growing violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, particularly in areas and cities controlled by the Taliban”.
Yesterday, Albares wrote on Twitter that “Spain reaffirms its commitment to the defence of human rights, and in particular the rights of Afghan women”.
Thus, Spain, while maintaining diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, because these are established between states, will keep its embassy closed for some time. The new ambassador will remain in Spain and will not be able to become a full ambassador until he presents his Letters of Credence to an Afghan government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will now study the relationship to be established with the new Afghan authorities, and will try to do so in coordination with the rest of the countries of the European Union, whose foreign affairs ministers, urgently summoned by the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, are scheduled to meet today by videoconference.
