Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced yesterday after the Council of Ministers the definitive withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez, after the repeated attacks by the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, on the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez.
“The situation has not changed and, therefore, I announce that we are withdrawing our ambassador in Buenos Aires, that she will remain permanently in Madrid. Argentina will continue without an ambassador,” Albares declared at the press conference after the Council of Ministers, in reference to the words of Milei, who this morning accused Sánchez of being a “coward” who hides behind women’s skirts.
“The withdrawal of the ambassador means that, from now on, there will be no Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires and the Embassy will remain at the level of a chargé d’affaires,” he continued. “I personally conveyed to the Argentine ambassador in Madrid that we demanded a public apology for what was an assault on good faith and hospitality on the part of the Spanish institutions, that we welcomed Javier Milei in the way in which a president of the Argentine Republic, which is a sister Republic of Spain,” he added.
Albares also announced that the Government will analyze “in detail what type of visit Javier Milei wants to make to Spain,” in reference to the trip that the Argentine president plans to make on June 21 to Madrid to receive the award from the Juan Institute. of Marina for her defense of freedom. For that occasion it was thought that meetings could take place with the King and the President of the Government, something that may remain up in the air as the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Argentina has worsened.
“Of course, on his first visit the Spanish State made every effort to welcome him with the hospitality and dignity that the position he represents deserves, allowing him to land and take off from the Torrejón air base, offering him security guarantees, and the response to that good faith and hospitality was a frontal attack with insults to our institutions,” he added.
“Therefore, Argentina will have to continue without a Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires,” he insisted. “There is no precedent for a head of state going to the capital of another country to insult its institutions and to make blatant interference in the eyes of the entire world in internal affairs,” he lamented.
According to Albares, “the ideas are debatable, but the institutions are indisputable, and that is why I made that call to the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups, and all of them, with the exception of the PP and Vox, offered me support for the defense of the Spanish institutions. For this reason, the minister regretted “the lukewarmness of the PP, putting buts, raising objections.”
In addition, Albares described it as “absurd” that the Government is accused of using the controversy with Milei for its campaign for the European elections. “It is absurd to say that and think that, everyone could hear Javier Milei’s statements live,” he declared. The president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated on his social media account: “It is another improper overacting of someone who did not withdraw the ambassador to Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. I demand that this drift be reconsidered and stopped. We deserve a better policy.” I would be”.
On the other hand, Albares indicated: “There are times to be the opposition, but there are times when one has to be Spain, and on Sunday, in front of Javier Milei, it was the time to be Spain”, And added that it as “absurd” that the Government is accused. to use the controversy with Milei for his campaign for the European elections. “It is absurd to say that and think that, everyone could hear Javier Milei’s statements live,” he declared.
On the other hand, he continued, “there is a courtesy in international relations and that is that, when a president, much more so since he has not been elected that long ago, travels to a country for the first time, the first activity he has is to meet with his counterpart.” “The Latin American presidents also observe it very scrupulously because of those fraternal ties, literally, of brotherhood that exist between Spain and all the countries of Latin America, and in this case, Javier Milei, on this visit, neither had nor “He requested a meeting with any Spanish institution,” he recalled.
Regarding the possible escalation of the diplomatic crisis, Albares stated that “there is a whole range of measures that, of course, the Government can adopt. In three days of crisis we have adopted three measures: on the first day we called for consultations, on the second day I summoned the ambassador and today, the third day, we permanently removed our ambassador.” “We have no desire or interest in any escalation, we have not caused this situation, but it is the obligation of the Government to defend the dignity and sovereignty of the Spanish institutions, much more so when the aggression occurs from the capital of Spain,” he warned. .
New statements from Milei
Fifteen hours after returning to Buenos Aires from Madrid (where he participated in a Vox event, in which he described Begoña Gómez, the wife of the President of the Government, as “corrupt”), Milei declared that Pedro Sánchez “has “It goes under women’s skirts.” “He is so cowardly that he needed to send me to beat me for women,” he added, in reference to the statements of the second vice president of the Spanish Government, Yolanda Díaz; and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.
“I am not going to apologize from any point of view… If I was the one attacked,” added Milei, in reference to the statements made at the beginning of May by the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, in which he implied that the Argentine president consumes drugs. In addition, Milei recalled that Sánchez had supported his Peronist rival, Sergio Massa, in the presidential elections and that he has never congratulated him on his electoral victory.
Regarding these words, the Government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, stated at the press conference that, “in the 21st century, politics is not a question of skirts or pants, it is a question of respect, and that women “Let us have a voice and autonomy, it is not cowardice, it is equality.”
After learning of the Spanish Government’s decision to withdraw its ambassador in Buenos Aires, Milei said that this measure is “nonsense typical of a fatally arrogant socialist” and insisted that Pedro Sánchez, “is not Spain, much less his wife”.
Milei denied that she plans to undertake any type of diplomatic measure and ruled out collateral effects in other areas such as the economy, despite the pressure that, according to the Argentine president, the businessmen with whom he met on Saturday have suffered.
On his social network account X, Javier Milei insisted that he maintains his intention to travel to Spain again in June. “We will see how far totalitarianism reaches him in blood. Notice, I will travel to receive the Juan de Mariana award. We will see if his great inferiority complex allows the Spanish liberals to be able to award me in person,” he wrote.
