Washington Considers Supplying Arms to Algeria, Hails Reforms There, Official

The United States considers supplying Algeria with a load of weapons to help her combating al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in the region, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State at U.S. Department of State, Raymond Maxwell, said Thursday in Algiers.

Mr Maxwell ended Thursday a working visit to Algeria. He told a press conference held at the US Embassy in Algiers that “We are about determining ways and means to sell Algeria military equipments as part of counterterrorism efforts,” adding that “efforts of the US aim at curbing the spread of the activity of AQIM in the region, and also at countering different kind of trafficking, including narcotic and human trafficking.”

The US official indicated that there are already partnerships between Algeria and the US in different domains, including in counterterrorism, sharing information, and countering the propagation of arms trafficking. In this regard, Mr Maxwell said “the objective is to avoid the proliferation of arms from Libya.”

He further specified that he has discussed with Algeria Delegate Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, “different issues of common interest.”

“We have discussed the Libyan issue and the Algerian Libyan bilateral relations,” he said, stressing that the United States awaits that the countries of the region to support the NTC to set up democracy in this delicate situation,” Mr Maxwell said.

 Concerning the political reforms being implemented in Algeria, the US diplomat said the Algerian government has chosen “the right way.”

“I think it’s easy to realize that the government of Algeria has chosen the right way, while adopting political reforms,” he said, and thus hailed “the immense liberty” that the Algerian press enjoys.