The Diplomat
The Algerian authorities consider that the President of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, has “sold his soul for a plate of lentils” with his change of course regarding Western Sahara and that, with this concession to Morocco, Spain “has achieved nothing” with regard to the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla.
“Beyond the few measures announced in the joint declaration that sanctioned Pedro Sánchez’s visit to Rabat (movement of people, migration, maritime links, etc.), it should be noted that it is the status of the two enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla that was at the heart of the strategic calculations of the head of the Spanish government,” a senior Algerian official close to the Saharawi issue told the digital portal Tout sur l’Algerie. “However, on this decisive point, he has achieved nothing”, he warned.
“The Moroccans categorically rejected any mention, even implicit, of respect for the ‘territorial integrity’ of Spain,” he continued. “In the end, Pedro Sanchez’s Spain has lost its soul for a plate of lentils and the manipulative and devious Makhzen (the usual appellation to refer to Morocco’s ruling elite, including the King), sooner or later, will return to the charge over the two prisons, which it considers a ‘national cause’ in the same way as the occupied Western Sahara,” he warned.
“The economic and commercial suffocation of Ceuta and Melilla, the use of illegal migration, the dispute over maritime spaces, drug trafficking and security threats will continue to be the main levers of the strategy of permanent tension that pleases a Makhzen familiar with the practices of intimidation, blackmail and corruption”, assured the same source.
Pedro Sánchez paid this Thursday, at the invitation of Mohammed VI, an official visit to Rabat, where he was received at the Royal Palace by the King of Morocco. At the meeting, the two leaders agreed on a joint statement announcing a “lasting and ambitious roadmap” that will include the reopening of the land border crossings and will culminate with the holding of the High Level Meeting later this year. The text does not include any mention of the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, although, as stated by Sanchez at the subsequent press conference, “the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Spain are beyond any doubt, including Ceuta and Melilla, because it is a commitment of the State and the Government and a constitutional order”.
According to the senior Algerian official, “with regard to this hasty visit to Rabat, it is clear that the Moroccan monarch rushed to throw a lifeline to Pedro Sanchez, who found himself extremely isolated on the domestic political scene” because of his position on Western Sahara “and whose government rightly fears painful decisions by Algeria in the framework of its global response to this opportunistic and criminal turn.”
“The reassuring words about the ‘fluidity’ of contacts with the Algerian authorities and the reminder of the ‘strategic’ nature of relations with Algeria cannot mask the reality of a crisis which has led to the immediate recall for consultations of our ambassador in Madrid and whose other consequences will be felt, at different levels, in the short and medium term”, he warned. For the time being, in the midst of the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia, the Algerian company Sonatrach has already announced that it will “recalculate” the price of gas sent to Spain. Algeria is currently, by far, the main supplier of gas to our country.
