Spain will soon debate the limit of the territorial waters with Morocco. The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has confirmed the organization of the Spanish-Moroccan commission, “which has not met for 15 years.” The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, had announced this Tuesday morning, in the control session of his Government, that Starting next week, this commission will be launched. where, among other issues, the delimitation of Canarian and Alaouite waters will be debated and where the Canarian Executive will also participate, as it did in 2005.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation made these statements after meeting with his counterpart from the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičsat the Viana Palace in Madrid.
Albares has not wanted to confirm if Spain is going to send heavy weapons to Ukraine. “If we want to help Ukraine, the details about the arrival and the type of weapons are out of place. We are talking about a war, in which most of the victims are civilians & rdquor ;, Albares said. “Airing those details, which I understand may be of interest, does not help Ukraine to defend its sovereignty or civilians at all & rdquor ;, he concluded.
Spain participates, said the minister, in the Rammstein conference (Germany), in which countries like Italy are committing to sending weapons to Ukraine.
Controversy with Algeria
“Algeria is a solid and reliable partner with whom we want to have the best relations & rdquor ;, Albares said succinctly in response to repeated questions from journalists about the state of the Government’s relations with Algiers after the exchange of reproaches in the media. these days. Algeria described as “regrettable & rdquor; the words of Albares on Onda Cero, when he said that he was not going to enter into “sterile polemics & rdquor; after the Algerian complaints about Madrid’s support for the autonomy plan for the Rabat Sahara. “What the Government of Spain wants is to have the best relationship” with the neighbor to the south, has concluded.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Albares has focused on the fact that “this unjust war it is highlighting that propaganda and false information put democracies at risk & rdquor ;.
Therefore, he has said, “Spain has applied to join the StratCom CEO in Riga& rdquor ;, where propaganda and cyber warfare are fought. According to Albares, there are two wars going on. One, the Russian invasion. The other, that of propaganda and disinformation. “Today more than ever the 360º NATO, the one that will take place in eight weeks in Madrid [en la cumbre de la Alianza Atlántica el 28-29 de junio] and that will be reflected in the Strategic Concept, it has to take into account all the fronts, not only the eastern one, but also the “southern flank & rdquor; and hybrid threats have to be present & rdquor ;.
The “southern flank” of NATO
The Latvian Foreign Minister has shown its support for the Spanish idea of protecting the “southern flank” with NATO. by the presence of Russian Wagner mercenaries in the Sahel and by the expansion of China in Africa.
“We have talked about how to increase sanctions on russia”, said Rinkēvičs, who has assured that the ultimate goal is for Moscow to declare a ceasefire and withdraw from the occupied territories. “We must clearly define Russia as an adversary and that the front must have a permanent troop deployment.”
“Latvia was occupied by the Soviet Union, and we have the feeling that history is coming back & rdquor ;, the Latvian recalled.
Bilateral relations between Spain and Latvia are especially strong in the field of defense, since Spain has had a contingent of the Army deployed in Latvia since 2017 as part of the NATO Reinforced Forward Presence initiative. “A deployment of more than 500 soldiers with tanks & rdquor ;, said the minister.
NATO Summit in Madrid
Albares has also pointed out that the Council of Ministers has approved the measures to guarantee the security measures for the NATO summit.
More of 2,000 journalists will go to Madrid to cover the NATO summit on June 29 and 30, an event to which the Council of Ministers gave its approval this Tuesday and which the Government hopes will serve to improve the good reputation and international image that has Spain.
This was highlighted by the Government spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, at the press conference after the Cabinet meeting, which has agreed to hold this summit as one more step to respond to logistics needs of this world event.
A summit where the Atlantic Alliance will reinforce its strategy in the challenges it faces, such as the war in Ukraine, but also the advances in the freedomsto the fight against jihadist terrorism or war crimes.