Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, was received yesterday in Washington by the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, with whom he discussed the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, the upcoming NATO Summit in Madrid, democracy in Latin America and the situation in Western Sahara.
The meeting took place just after a telephone conversation between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and one hour before the Secretary of State’s trip to Ukraine and Germany as part of his diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions. During his interview with Lavrov, as reported by State Department spokesman Ned Price, Blinken advocated the “diplomatic path to de-escalate tensions surrounding the deeply troubling Russian military build-up in and near Ukraine,” reiterated “the unshakable U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” and stressed that “any discussion of European security must include NATO Allies and European partners, including Ukraine.”
“We have discussed, of course, the current crisis situation between Russia and Ukraine, and I have conveyed to him Spain’s commitment to our allies and to Ukraine as well, to its territorial integrity and sovereignty, including Crimea,” Albares told the Spanish press after his interview with Blinken. “The tension in Europe and between the allies and Russia is very great” and, therefore, “we are going to work together for dialogue, we are going to work together for de-escalation and détente, but we are also going to work together on deterrence” in case “the dialogue did not bear fruit as we would like it to,” he added. “I have also conveyed to him the unity of the Europeans on this issue and, beyond that, we have looked together towards the NATO Summit, which is going to take place on June 29 and 30 in Madrid,” Albares continued.
These two topics were the focus of most of the meeting “and the rest of the time, the bulk of the time” was devoted to Latin America, the minister explained. In this regard, he explained, although during the meeting “we did not talk about Cuba, specifically”, they did address “the sad situation in Nicaragua” and the “necessary release of all political prisoners”, and the crisis in Venezuela, regarding which, he said, both were “in agreement” on the need to “promote dialogue among Venezuelans” because “the situation in Venezuela has to come from the Venezuelans themselves”.
According to the State Department spokesman, Antony Blinken and José Manuel Albares discussed “the importance of coordinating actions in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and reiterated that “any further Russian aggression toward Ukraine would result in a severe response”. They also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening U.S.-Spanish cooperation “to address shared challenges, such as promoting democracy and human rights in Latin America, strengthening transatlantic security, and a broad range of other global issues.”
Western Sahara
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the situation in Western Sahara, a crisis that has worsened especially after the decision of former U.S. President Donald Trump to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the territory, which served as a trigger for the serious diplomatic crisis that Rabat and Madrid have been experiencing for almost a year.
“We have indeed talked about the situation in Western Sahara and we have agreed to join forces to resolve a conflict that has gone on for too long and for which a solution must be found,” Albares declared. “I have also informed him that, on Friday in Madrid, I will meet with the UN Secretary General’s special envoy, Stefan de Mistura,” he continued. “We are both members of the Group of Friends of the Sahara within the United Nations and we have agreed to join forces to finally find a solution to a conflict that has to end,” he reiterated.
Trump’s announcement came a few months before the outbreak of the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco over the irregular entry into Spain of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali. However, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita warned in late May that Morocco’s unease with Spain was not due to “the affair of one man” (referring to Ghali), but to the fact that Spain had not adopted a position of open support for Rabat’s pretensions in the Sahara, as the United States had done. Last July, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, Joey Hood, advocated to Bourita “a credible UN-led political process to stabilize the situation and ensure a cessation of hostilities”.
Following his meeting with Blinken, Albares met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi; with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, at the organization’s headquarters; and with the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mauricio Claver-Carone, at the Bank’s headquarters.
Likewise, Albares and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno, held a meeting with representatives of Spanish companies in the USA, “the first destination for Spanish investment”, according to the Ministry via Twitter. During the meeting, they discussed the economic situation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and “new investment opportunities”.
