Albares denies Spain will cede Western Sahara airspace to Morocco

The Diplomat Western Sahara was at the center of one of the interpellations to which the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, had to respond yesterday during the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies and in which he stressed that Spain will not cede sovereignty to Morocco. Faced with the question of the deputy of EH Bildu Jon Iñarritu —“Do you foresee cessions to Morocco of sovereignty managed by Spain in Western Sahara?”- the minister flatly denied that this airspace will be ceded to Morocco and described the suspicions of EH Bildu as “strange theories”. At the same time he reaffirmed the “road map” with the neighboring country, with which -he added- “everything is transparent”. The airspace over Western Sahara is controlled from the Canary Islands. However, the territory's airports are controlled by Morocco, which has been militarily occupying the area of the former Spanish colony since 1975. This means that it is Spain that authorizes flights into the territory. Both countries signed a joint declaration in April 2022 stating that “talks will be initiated on the management of airspace”.

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