Algeria’s Gas Supplies To Spain Are Guaranteed And There Is No Danger Facing Them

The Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, confirmed that his country’s gas supplies from Algeria are guaranteed and that no danger is facing them, following the authorities’ decision not to rely on the pipeline passing through Morocco and to be satisfied with the direct line “Medgaz”, and stressed that Madrid will always work within the framework of the United Nations regarding the Western Sahara issue.

The Spanish official said, in an interview with the newspaper “La Vanguardia”, on Sunday, in response to a question related to the country’s supply of Algerian gas, that he had talked about several times in the recent period with Algerian officials (he did not mention them) and stressed that there are no threats regarding the supply of his country with Algerian gas, especially next winter, after Algeria severed diplomatic relations with Rabat, and decided to cover Spain’s needs through the Medgaz direct line between the two countries.

He added, “I think that Spanish citizens can be confident about the country’s supply of gas.. We are following and analyzing the situation in Algeria without any rush and it is still too early to draw any conclusions”.

Regarding a question related to Western Sahara, and whether Spain has changed its hypothesis regarding Western Sahara, the Spanish diplomatic official explained that Madrid will always work on this file within the framework of the United Nations, while refusing to reveal what happened between him and the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, regarding the same file, and stressed that what matters in the Western Sahara issue is the centrality of the international role.

It is evident from the words of the Spanish Foreign Minister that Madrid clearly supports the international track of the Western Sahara issue, and there was no supportive expressions from him for the so-called “extended autonomy” proposal vainly promoted by Rabat.

A few days ago, Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab announced that Algeria would cover all Spain’s gas needs through the “Medgaz” pipeline that connects the two countries directly, which means abandoning the pipeline passing through Moroccan territory, whose contractual terms expire on October 31, days after Algeria announced the breaking off of its diplomatic relations with Rabat.