President Tebboune: “The Spanish Government Is To Blame, Not The Spanish State”

The Spanish press reacted remarkably to the statements made by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune regarding the Algerian-Spanish relations, and what was interesting was the keenness to emphasize that the Algerian anger is not against the Spanish state, but rather directed at its Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The phrase “Sanchez’s position broke the Algerian-Spanish relations” was widely circulated by the Spanish newspapers, and it conveyed President Tebboune’s response to the press’s questions.. “Sanchez broke everything” because of his position on the issue of Western Sahara. It is a position “morally and historically unacceptable”, according to the newspaper “El Mundo”.
It adds: “We have friendly relations with Spain and there was a rapprochement as with Italy, and the prime minister broke everything. We must distinguish between the Spanish government and the Spanish state with which we have very strong relations. We demand the implementation of international law so that relations with Spain return to normal. They can’t ignore their historical responsibilities and we ask them to review what they did.”
El Mundo also wrote: “The relationship between Algeria and Spain is complex, and although the gas supply is not at risk at the moment, the deterioration is so great that it will be very difficult to make progress in energy cooperation as Italy did,” the newspaper estimated. That “re-arrangement of relations with Spain will not take place without correcting the position on the issue of Western Sahara.”
For its part, the newspaper “AS” said that “diplomatic relations between Algeria and Spain are on a tight rope. However, the Algerian president offered Sanchez the opportunity to restore those relations, but this will only pass through one outlet, which is compliance with international law regarding Western Sahara without ignoring Spain’s historical responsibilities as the administering power.”
Despite the diplomatic crisis, the newspaper says, “The Algerian president sent a message of calm to the Spaniards regarding gas supplies. Algeria will not forsake its commitment to supplying Spain with gas, whatever the circumstances. Even if he did not clarify whether there would be an increase in prices.”
Diario Critico newspaper commented on President Tebboune’s statements: “Algeria raises the tone against the head of government, Pedro Sanchez, for accepting Morocco’s proposal for autonomy in Western Sahara. The Algerian president described the political transformation of the executive branch (the government) as morally and historically unacceptable”.
It added, quoting President Tebboune: “We have friendly relations with the Spanish state, and there was a rapprochement, as is the case with Italy, but the Spanish prime minister broke everything.” It reiterated “the prime minister, not Spain,” noting that the Algerian president’s statement “is directed to the government and not to the Spanish state, because Sanchez’s role in the Western Sahara was not supported by others, neither in the parliament nor in the street”.
At a time when some newspapers focused on the Algerian anger at the prime minister because of his “unilateral decision in Western Sahara”, other newspapers played the appeasement card and tried to reassure the Spanish people about gas supplies, which have become a real concern on the other side of the Mediterranean.
In this context, the Spanish newspaper “Al Correa” wrote: “There will be no restrictions from Algeria on exporting gas to Spain. Despite the government’s announcement of acceptance of the Moroccan autonomy plan in Western Sahara, the Algerian president confirmed that commercial relations with the Spanish state are strong and stable and that he will abide by its obligations relating to gas, whatever the circumstances.
However, this did not prevent Algeria from highlighting the Algerian anger at the Sanchez government, according to the newspaper: “The Algerian president wanted to “distinguish” between the government’s responsibility in relation to Western Sahara and the established relationship with the Spanish state. He stressed that Pedro Sanchez had adopted an unpopular decision and the support of the rest, not in Parliament or in the street”.
The newspaper “La Nacion” also focused on Tebboune’s statement, which differentiated between the government and the Kingdom of Spain, and wrote: “The Algerian president distinguished between his criticism of the government for violating international law and the strong and well-established relations with the Spanish state.” I referred to his statement in which he reminded the Spanish government that “its responsibility remains in Western Sahara before international legitimacy. Spain does not have the right to hand over colonial lands to another country. This is the problem of Spain”.