The announcement was made on Wednesday June 8 by a statement from the Presidency of the Algerian Republic. It’s a suspension immediate which follows Madrid’s reversal on the Western Sahara issue. On March 18, Spain, eager to put an end to the crisis with Rabat, aligned itself for the first time since 1974 with the Moroccan position. A position that has pissed off Algeria, the main support of the Saharoui independence movement, the Polisario Front.
Since Spain came out of the position of neutrality that it had always advocated concerning the Sahrawi dossier, Algeria has not ceased to show its annoyance. After threatening to revise the prices of gas sold to Spain, it is this time suspending a treaty of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation concluded in 2002. This agreement has so far framed the development of relations between the two countries: it provided for a strengthening of political dialogue, but also the development of cooperation in the economic, financial, educational and defense fields.
The presidency justified this suspension decision by indicating that the new position of the Spanish authorities was in “ violation of their legal, moral and political obligations and she denounces the Spanish support for an illegal and illegitimate formula of internal autonomy.
Spain for its part regrets the Algerian decision. She says she ” considers Algeria as a neighboring and friendly country » and wishes to continue to develop cooperative relations with Algiers.